Love Letter from Thief X: The Black Roulette
by KeshaRocks
Summary: Nari and Umie find their lives turned upside down when they get indoctrinated into a band of thieves. Through their trials, the girls struggle to determine who they can really trust - and where, exactly, a romance with sometimes fascinating, and sometimes infuriating boys fit into the situation. But every choice has consequences; and it can either transform them, or destroy them.
1. Prologue

Umie steps back careful not to knock over storage buckets tucked next a metal shelving.

A team of anthropologists carefully load a mummy onto the table at the center of the room. It's a beautiful painted cartonnage cover with a golden headdress, and facial features painted onto it.

"Easy guys, theses bodies are very fragile." Mr. William instructs. He's the head of studies and technically a "teacher" of the students who come to the museum to learn about anthropology.

Anthropology is all about what makes us human, our place in nature, our common concerns and our differences. Field Museum anthropologists explore these issues through laboratory and collections-based research at the Museum and at field sites throughout the world. They build and maintain the Museum's world class collections which now include more than a million and a half objects documenting the diversity and accomplishments of humankind. The scientists also teach others, through exhibits, public programs and advanced training.

Umie tucks a pink strand of hair behind her ear. She readies the door as the anthropologists wheel the mummy out of the room. Several students squeak in excitement talking about how they'll finally be able see the body of an ancient Egyptian being.

No one has ever been able to see inside the mummy and, see what's going on. One thing that really excites the museum's scientists is the possibility of using state of the art techniques to get three dimensional objects in the collections. The mummies have been in the Field Museum collections for decades, and relatively little research has been done on them because people quite frankly were worried about damaging the mummies by trying to study them. So it's really a wonderful opportunity when one can use a catscan machine without touching, without opening anything up. They can then reconstruct what's inside.

Contrary to the image of mummies portrayed by the popular Scooby-Doo cartoon, mummies are not monsters, capable of smashing through walls; in fact, most mummies are too fragile even to stand on end. Egyptian mummies are embalmed lying on their back, and so fit easily into a medical CT scanner, which looks a bit like a spaceship with a table for the patient that slides through a hole in the middle of the machine.

Not only can scientists see inside the wrappings of a mummy using this technology, they can also create 3D models for Museum visitors to manipulate. Viewers can strip off layer after layer, head to toe, and down to the bare bone, using an interactive touch screen computer. In addition to 3D modeling for Museum-goers to manipulate, the CT scanner can help scientists reconstruct incomplete human and animal skulls, by scanning the bone fragments, and then using surgical software to perform facial reconstruction.

Umie glimpses at the headdress and feels her insides clench; though it isn't from nausea from the thought of a dead body. She never thought she'd be one to enjoy glimpsing at dead corpses, but instead of feeling nauseous and wanting to avoid looking at the body, she's actually interested as she follows the group out the door.

Umie adjusts her blue blouse and tightens the clip holding back her hair. Its natural color is a dark brown, but Nari managed to somehow convince her to get a pastel ombre. Obviously she's becoming a bad influence.

Given she's a college student, the museum was able to look past fading colors of pink to pale purple. Umie would've picked only one, but the colors seemed so pretty from online pictures that she decided it would be a great idea. She and Nari were supposed to do it together, but Nari backed out, only getting brown highlights to her already brunette color. It took Nari a month to make that one up to Umie.

After escorting the archeologists outside, Umie returns to her place at the front desk of the museum. There she finds Nari sitting in her computer chair, playing around on her phone while rotating her chair back and forth.

"Glad to see you're using your time wisely." Umie exaggerates.

"You know what, I am on break Umie." Nari retorts.

"Yeah," Umie scoffs. She plops down into her own chair and rolls up to the computer. "You always seem to be on break."

Nari only smiles and shrugs. She locks her phone and scoots closer to Umie. There's a small fridge under the front desk for employees to store their lunches. The museum usually quiets down around twelve or one o'clock. Still the walls echo with conversations of guests and the squeals of excited children vibrate through the marble floors.

The entire hall is soaring and grand with the Sue model – the largest recorded t-rex in history is displayed just behind the front desk. Also one of the curators thought it would be a brilliant idea to install a giant replica of a Blue Whale right _above_ the front desk. The thing still instills fear of crashing in Umie's mind.

As Umie finishes filing the purchase of a family's tickets, Nari trifles through the fridge and pulls out a plastic container filled with spaghetti, then a smaller one with parmesan cheese.

Umie giggles. "Is there any day when you don't eat my mom's spaghetti?"

"Oh my god . . . it's so good." Nari whispers. "So how was that mummy thing?"

Nari asks as she pop open the cap and sprinkles the cheese on top.

"Not bad. I'm actually fascinated to see what they see."

"How is it that you can't watch a horror movie, yet when it comes to real dead bodies, you turn into Luis Alverez?" Nari teases.

"Who?"

"He was a famous paleontologist."

"Oh. Are you going to eat that cold?" Umie asks. Nari looks to her with just a wide-eyed face. Umie laughs. "Shouldn't you heat it up first?"

Nari groans. "But it's so far from here to the employee dream room."

Umie laughs and shakes her head. "It's not that far a walk."

"I don't want to go." Nari whines.

Umie rolls her eyes and looks back to the screen of her computer. "So how you liking your film editing class?"

"Oh ma goshh," Nari muffles through the food in her mouth. She holds up her finger to give her a second, and she swallows heavily. "Okay, so we were assigned to make a trailer of a movie, and I got partnered with this kid who uses the lamest and slowest software EVER!"

Umie laughs.

"Umie, it is the worst software . . . ever. And I'm just, sweet mother Teresa. It's so slow, and I suggest we use Sony Vegas, but no! He wants to use his software and I go, but it's a bit slow. And he just . . . he's just so stupid -!"

"You want a pretzel?" Umie interrupts with a laugh.

"Thank you Umie. Thank you." Nari answers instantly changing her tone.

Umie laughs even more and covers her mouth.

"Oh my Jesus, Umie. This kid . . ."

"I can't believe we volunteered to work here." Umie says.

"You don't like it?" Nari asks.

"I don't hate it, but I just don't like that it's a requirement for my mythology class in order to get extra credit."

"I get it. Better here than staying late after school." Nari points out.

"I guess. Being late at school kind of creeps me out." Umie says.

"Really? That's how I feel about it during the day."

Umie keeps laughing as she's typing. There's a buzzing sound and Nari fishes out her phone and taps the screen to stop a timer. She groans.

"Ughh, I need to get back to work." Nari complains.

"Just go in back and put in some music. Time will fly by." Umie says.

"Come with me."

"I need to stay up front." Umie snorts.

"Trade with me."

"No."

Nari groans again and gets up from the seat to return to the back room. For the rest of the day Umie spends it taking one visitor after another, taking phone calls to confirm the purchase of tickets while Nari stocks shelves and maintains the sights and exhibits.

By the end of the day, the majority of the lights are off in the great hall and the only sounds are the clinking of the janitor's keys as he redirects a mop bucket from one end of the room to the other. Umie finishes organizing the files and closing the cabinet she gathers her things and head to the back to find Nari for her ride home.

She was never a fan of the back room, except for when she wants to escape from the public for some peace and quiet. She pushes open the push-bar door with her hip.

"Nari!" Umie calls.

Inside, the musty air held an antique thickness, and the scent of dust and aging books combined to make breathing a chore. The front room stretched before her long and narrow, lined with rows of tall, sturdy bookshelves that reached almost the ceiling. Overhead, the tired light of lights burned a dull gold, adding little relief to the accumulated shadows. Carefully, Umie stepped around a mound of ancient looking tomes gathered near the door. She moves between two shelves and thought about calling out but for some reason, she can't bring herself to break the dead silence. Her gaze passes up and over the marked spines of countless books, every item categorized by its own number and date, and it made her feel almost as though she is walking through catacombs. When she reaches the end, she peer around the shelf to see a counter. Well, really, she sees a lot of books piled on top of something that at one time must have been a counter.

Ghosting her fingers along the metal shelving, she comes to an old logbook squished at the very end. Its old parchment and leather binding showed it was probably from the mid-18th century. Pulling it off the shelf, she blows on the cover, stirring up a cloud of dust.

The thing was heavy and thick. The cover has long been worn away and all that's left are faint gold etchings. Its yellow pages are crisp and wrinkled, popping and cracking as she breezes through them with her thumb. They went easily, as though the pages spent more time being pinned apart than clumped together. Its spine made a soft creaking noise as she pulls it open. Sheets of folded paper fall out to the floor, puddling at her feet. Gathering them up, Umie finds the nearest armchair and table and begin reading through it. It mainly talks about the original owners, along with a few handwritten sections, as if from a personal diary.

Purple writing covered every inch of buttery parchment. It was the most beautiful handwriting she's ever seen. Each loop and every curl connected cleanly to make the writing itself appear as perfect and uniform as a printed font. It baffles Umie how someone could sit and take the time to form letter so meticulously. The folded sheets of paper talk about secret passages all throughout an estate for emergencies in time of war. Others held small notes that she's sure were meant to be put in later.

She flips the book shut and places it back on the shelf and continues on towards locating Nari.

"Nari!" she finally calls.

"Yeah!" she hears her reply. It sounded a little further back.

"Where are you?!"

"Hang on!"

Umie sighs and leans against the metal posting and waits. She glances around the room, gazing at all the artifacts soon to be on display. Catching her eye is a monstrously huge oil painting, a portrait of a terrifyingly beautiful woman with glowing gold eyes.

Umie glances down to her hand where she looks to the tennis bracelet given to her by her grandfather. This bracelet for her features oval amethysts set in sterling silver frames. This elegant fine jewelry bracelet is decorated with diamonds and secured with a tongue clasp. It sparkles in the light, as if each jewel held its own glowing ember within.

After his passing when she was a senior in high school, Umie made sure to wear the bracelet to the event. And she could never explain why, but she just seemed in a better mood that day; as said by, everyone. Ever since then, the bracelet has become a statement for any outfits she wears for any occasion.

"Umie!" Nari calls, breaking her train of memories.

"Hey, you all set?" Umie asks as Nari approaches slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Yep! Let's go!" Nari says excitedly.

She boldly leads the way out of the back room. As they girls talk they reenter the main hall, and suddenly Umie realizes that it's eerily quiet. She looks around, and right as she spots the janitor's unconscious body on the ground, the security lights on the metal rafters high above blare on and for a few seconds the girls are blinded. The girls squeal and cover their eyes. The sirens inside begin to blare loudly and Umie grabs Nari by the arm or shoulder and hauls her behind the front desk. The sirens holler aggressively and Nari tries to shout over them when Umie covers her mouth. Umie puts a finger to her own lips to silence Nari and she nods.

Both girls can hear their hearts pounding in their ears. True that the museum tests the security system, but that was on the first Tuesday of every month. Today it's the third Thursday of June.

Umie stays crouched with Nari and carefully peers around the corner in time to find two men dressed in black carrying a painting. Umie's seen that before; it belonged in the medieval section of the museum.

The museum's being robbed.

The girls' first instinct is to call the police, but the phone is on the other side of the desk and the lobby doesn't provide service on their phones. Umie is caught between taking them on, or trying to stall them.

She leans close to Nari and whispers. "Get to the phone, I'll try and keep them here."

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Nari hisses back.

"I'll, stall them. Misdirection and camouflage."

"How?!"

Umie looks around and opens the drawer of change located next to the register. She fishes around until she finds a roll of nickels. If there's still money there, and no signs of them trying to break it open, they're not after cash.

Carefully peeking her head above the desk, she spots a light hanging on the wall. Umie readies the rolls of coins and thinks back to the knife throwing lesson she had with her uncle one summer in Colorado. After flicking her eyes back and forth between the wall and thieves, she chucks it across and thankfully it lands true, the roll shattering and clanging against the glass shade.

"What was that? Is someone still working here?" one thief asks.

"I don't know, but if there is we need to get this out of here fast!" the other responds.

Nari carefully inches towards the phone while Umie takes the chance to snatch more coin rolls and dash behind a large platform of replicated mammoths.

"There's coins scattered on the floor." The one thief says. "Someone is here, and they're playing with us."

"What should we do? Play back?" the other replies, and Umie can hear the smile on his lips.

She looks left and right and nearly screams when she finds the body of the janitor lying beside her. She clamps her hands over her mouth and looks to him quickly. There's no pool of blood or any signs of being shot or stabbed. She pressed two fingers to his neck and feels a pulse.

Sighing in relief, Umie looks back and can see Nari getting closer to the phone. Umie looks around and back up further into the shadows as she throws another roll, aiming over the shoulder of one thief. It crashes and he turns around. By now, one of them has set the painting down and is looking away.

Umie fights the urge to run up and take the other one out. She's taken classes, she can fight. But still there's that part of her that always underestimates herself. So she stays rooted in place and moves carefully.

But as she feels she's in the clear, she bumps into a podium, and a porcelain vase crashes to the tile. The thieves instantly glances in her direction, and for some reason, Umie stands up.

"There is someone here!" one thief points to her.

The alarms are still blaring, though now fear pulses through Umie's veins as she's been spotted.

Just as suddenly as the thieves spot her, one gets hit in the head with a roll of pennies.

"Hey!" a voice calls.

All three of them look to Nari who stands with a snarl on her face, though Umie can tell she's nervous. Umie quickly glances around and finds a crowbar under the scaffolding. The museum is having renovations done and were prying open crates of supplies today. Rejoiced, Umie quickly dashes for it as Nari keeps their attention.

Without thinking, the moment her hand clasps around the bar, she barrels towards the thieves. One turns around and as Umie goes to swing, he manages to grab the bar, but still grunts in pain. Automatically Umie jabs her foot in his knee while yanking the bar back. His grip fails and this time when she goes to swing at his side, it lands true.

While the thief howls in pain, Umie doesn't think about the other as she grabs the corner of the painting. It's heavier that she thought so the other half drags along the floor. With a harsh yank, she pulls it behind her and hears it bump into the front desk. She doesn't look over her shoulder to Nari, but keeps her eyes forward. She's struggles to see, squinting as the lights are still blaring bright.

"Easy, easy. We didn't mean to scare you." One thief says.

"Bullshit!" Umie cusses. She readies her weapon. "Hands above your head!"

The thief she struck grunts. "Man, you've got some power behind that body of yours."

Umie snarls and keeps her weapon at the ready. As she tries to think of who to strike next, she can't help but think of Nari and where she ran off to.

"Don't come any closer." She warns.

"This'll be a lot easier if you just hand it over." The one thief says, though it didn't so9und threatening or mocking. In fact it seemed to sound, urgent.

"The police are already on their way!" Umie yells.

Finally the unharmed thief runs forward. Umie suppresses a scream and readies her crowbar. She assumes that it'll be a distraction while the other thief grabs the painting, but he seems hurt enough that he can't carry its full weight.

Umie goes to swing for the thief's head, but he blocks it and she goes for a kick in the knee. He expects it and his leg steps back and tries to yank the bar out of Umie's grip. Keeping it locked firmly like a vise, Umie spins inward and rams her elbow into the thief's stomach then jabbing him in the dome; though she wishes she aimed for his nose. When she feels his grip loosen slightly, again she wrenches herself free and gives herself some distance.

The thief holds his head and swears under his breath. Umie goes to whack at his head, but she halts when he rises with a smile on his face. Umie is about to go ballistic thinking it's a mocking smile, but it's, friendly.

"Wow, didn't expect that. You're pretty good."

Umie decided to take a whack at his pride. "You should see me when I'm trying."

"Okay, that's hitting a little bit below the belt don't you think?"

"No, this is!" Umie goes to swing at his groin, but the thief dances back.

Umie can see the other thief lugging the painting away, so she quickly charges forward making her opponent think she's going, and when he dodges, she keeps running towards the one with the painting.

Before she can strike, he already jumps back like something from behind spooks him and nearly plows into Umie. She sidesteps last second and finds Nari with a wooden plank in hand. She and Umie share a smile and Umie quickly goes for the painting.

"Wow, you girls fight almost as well as men." the one thief says. This time Nari can see he has black hair.

"Funny! I was about to say the same thing about you!" she spits.

"Okay, okay, look just give me a chance to apologize." The black-haired thief says he scoots himself back as Nari approaches with the wood plank.

"For stealing?" Umie interrogates.

Suddenly the thief grabs the bar and swipes her feet out from under her. "No, that."

The thief stands on his feet. "You sneaky son-of-a-!"

Umie doesn't even finish as Nari comes hauling in with her plank. Nari lunes at him and knocks the crowbar aside with her plank. His arm follows the movement of his weapon, letting Nari know he allowed her to make the connection. Nari didn't doubt it.

Backing away from her, crossing one left behind the other, the thief let Nari swipe at him again, then easily deflects her advance. Nari lunges again and again, and each time, the thief sent her plank aside with his bar.

The fuse of fury he lit within Nari grows shorter and shorter with each of her rebounded attacks. He is making fun of her. He is doing this on purpose to mock her, trying to make her feel weak and stupid.

Umie sprints for the painting and the other thief now blocks it. He holds up his hands. "Look we're sorry if we scared you."

"Oh, are you always this charming or am I just lucky?" Umie provokes. She tries to clutch at the confidence she had with the crowbar and project that to her current situation. She won't give him the satisfaction of knowing she's less cocky without a weapon.

Nari and the black-haired thief rotate in a circle, still he hasn't struck her. Finally he grits his teeth and easily knocks aside Nari's plank and jabs her in the stomach before kicking her feet out.

"Cute, little girl." He smirks.

Nari, suddenly infuriated roars and chucks her plank at the thief, but it misses and whistles through the air and hits the pulley system suspending the giant whale above the front desk. There's the sound of gears shrieking and a snap of cables.

"Umie!"

Umie looks up and gasps.

The whale descends on her. She should move. She needs to move, but she's immobilized by her fear. Her pulse a war drum in her ear.

"Run!" she hears the thief shout.

Then with a painful lurch of her arm, she finds herself sprinting at full speed with the thief she was facing against. With trembling fingers, she locks her grip on his hand. She doesn't dare look back or up.

She hears the horrifying crunch of the desk as it's mercilessly crushed beneath the weight of the whale. The black-haired thief grabs Nari and leads her in the same direction. The whoosh of the air slams into her spine and Umie can feel her feet fly off the ground.

A scream erupts from her lips as she's a limp projectile.

Tumbling and rolling along the floor, darkness descends upon them.

* * *

"Umie . . ."

In the twilight of her dreams, she hears his voice.

"Grandpa?"

She hears the whispers and she goes searching for him. It's a gauzy, violet-tinted world, with no hard edges, and many places to hide. Umie pushes through cloud banks, following faint tracks, catching the scent of peppermint. Once she feels his hand on her cheek and try to trap it in her hand, but it dissolves like mist through her fingers.

There's a faint ringing in her ears.

Umie groans as her eyes open to a plain white wall. Seconds go by before she can see definite edges in her surroundings, the lines of a door frame and countertop and ceiling. She hears the sound of a machine beeping, but it's still muffled as her sense awaken one by one. The lines of white, and the soft halo of sunlight. Umie flicks her eyes around before she tries to move her head, not wanting to bring on a sudden tilt; bringing with it a wave of nausea.

Looking around the room, she sees thin curtains drawn allowing only a slit of light to enter the room. To her left she finds her parents snuggled in waiting chairs. Her mom is resting her head on her father's shoulder, both seemingly dressed in comfy clothes; clothes they'd wear around the house.

Umie wiggles her fingers before she tries to push to a sitting position. She finds himself without her clothes. A rigid hospital gown covers her body under smooth sheets. Hospital bracelets bound her wrists and a wire in her arm connects to an IV that when counted, drips ever five seconds.

"Mom." Umie croaks.

Instantly her mom's eyes flutter open. They widen and she carefully get sup from the seat since she has a bad knee. She wanders over to the bed and smiles through a sob as she gathers Umie in a hug. Umie looks over her mother's shoulder and groggily smiles at her dad. Her mother exchanges her spot so that he can hug her too.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital honey," her mother says cupping her cheek.

Umie tries to remember what had happened. She blinks as a swirl of images shutter through her brain like snapshots in a broken reel of film. Closing her eyes, she tries to find one frame to latch on to, one fleeting symbol or shadow that would trigger the memory of what it was she'd been dreaming about.

But the pictures slide by too quickly, growing dimmer and more uncertain the faster her consciousness swims towards the surface of reality.

Even if she can't recall where she had been or what had been happening, she knows that the dream had not had a chance to end where it should have. There has been something left unsaid. No, she thinks, there has been something left undone. What was it?

Umie sighs. It's no use straining. The thread is broken.

There's a wink of light and Umie looks at an end table to find her amethyst tennis bracelet.

Suddenly the realization hits her like a punch to the stomach.

The museum. Thieves. A painting. Nari.

An ice bomb explodes somewhere in the pit of her stomach, set off by the sudden realization that she was with Nari when the museum was being robbed.

"_Narrrri_!" her voice scrapes raw from the back of her throat. Umie tosses off her covers, her legs prickling with gooseflesh as she stagger out of bed. There's a harsh tug on her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. A beeping goes off and Umie's head suddenly grows light, like it's been filled with helium.

"Honey! Honey." Her mother coaxes her. "Easy, you have an IV in your arm."

"I've noti-_shhed_ . . ." Umie's words slur and her stomach twists back and forth.

"Honey, honey sit down." Her mother instructs.

A nurse comes trotting into the room and over to the machine. Umie holds onto the padded bed until the room settles into focus. Fighting the nausea keeps her busy as the nurse detaches the wires and bandages her arm. She stays like this for two minutes.

"Here," the nurse says. "Let me get you some water. Are you hungry?"

Umie can feel her stomach be empty, but the nausea tricks her into feeling full, so she shakes her head, but accepts the water. As she drinks, she brushes her hand over the bandages.

She pauses in between sips. "What's the word on the museum? What happened to me? What happened to Nari?" she goads.

Her father goes to get her another cup of water while her mother sits on the bed. She folds her hands in her lap in proper posture.

"After the robbery at the museum, the police found you and Nari just inside the doors. That whale thing had crashed and you were both unconscious." Her mother explains. Umie accepts the new glass of water from her father. "The police brought you both here to inspect for injuries. Nothing major just some head bumps and bruises."

"Okay," Umie sighs. "So where is she now?"

"In a waiting room down the hall. She was the first to regain consciousness."

"And when will I, we be released?" Umie persists.

"Well, that's for the doctor to decide."

Umie looks at the glass in her lap, her eyes widen and she jerks her head up. "What happened to the thieves?! Where's the painting?!"

"Easy, honey." Her mother calms. "Unfortunately, they weren't at the scene when police arrived, and the painting was gone."

Umie scoffs in annoyance. "Fuck." She whispers under her breath.

"Hey, don't talk like that." Her father speaks. "Things could've been worse. You are worth far more than that painting."

Umie smiles. "How long was I out?"

"At least all night. The doctors said there weren't any fatal injuries so they just gave you some painkillers and rehydrated you." Her father says.

Umie relaxes a little more. Her father works as an anesthesiologist at their local hospital, so he at least knows what he's saying.

"The doctors will be here to give you a sort of checkup, so after the results come in we can sign you out." He adds.

"Okay."

One would think that after going through a robbery, one would be entitled to a few days of rest and perhaps recommend a few weeks of therapy, but for some reason, the doctors say that Umie can be up and moving almost immediately. By noon she's dressed in new clothes – courtesy of her mother – and stands in front of the mirror adjusting her hair into a braid. Her loose black V-neck has short sleeves, showing off her impressive bruising and the scar from the IV insert.

Her sneakers clap against the tile as she leads the way off her parents' directions of the waiting room.

She sees Nari sitting along in the far corner of the small room.

Slumped in one of the many greenish-blue upholstered chairs, dressed in yoga pants and one of her rumpled school shirts, Nari sits with her head propped against the wall. She clutches the pink headphones Umie had given her last Christmas between limp hands, and the tiny LCD screen of her ipod glows in one slack fist.

At first sight of her, an inexplicable gush of relief floods through Umie.

The room itself is nondescript, with plain industrial carpeting. Generic landscape paintings hang on smooth turquoise walls. A soda machine hums in the corner. Next to it, a refrigerator stands beside a long countertop, its surface clear and clean except for a large coffeemaker, a bowl of assorted sugar packets, and two stacks of Styrofoam cups.

Umie carefully approaches Nari and taps her shoulder.

"Nari."

Nari's eyes flutter open and they instantly widen at the sight of Umie. "Umie!" she squeals.

Nari gathers her in a hug and a sound escapes her lips. A combination of a laugh, a sob, and hiccup. Umie's own eyes are too blurry to see her, but she feels her when she wraps her arms around her and squeezes so hard it hurts. She smells like Axe cologne and she feels strong. Umie clutches Nari as tightly as she clutches Umie.

Their strength making the other feel stronger.


	2. Chapter 1

Nari tells Umie her story.

The police stated that the robbery was committed by a group of notorious thieves known as the Black Foxes. They escaped, which they're also known for and have apparently stolen other painting and artifacts from other locations including wealthy merchant and museums.

Nari had suffered from several impales from the shattered bits of glass in the museum as well as a head injury, but nothing too damaging. She was the first to awake and receive reports from her parents.

But what really captured Umie's attention was when Nari explains about a dream she had while under insulin in the hospital.

She had dreamt about her grandfather. Umie declined to tell her about her own dream, not wanting to add anything weird after they had just gotten through a robbery and being put in the hospital.

Nari now has her hair in a messy bun along with a neon-pink loose tank top and jeans.

As part of the girls' rehabilitation, they have to take walks once to twice a day, also they each denied needing therapy, though Umie kept one's card just in case.

They now sit with their friend Ranko who's a local reporter, at Steven's Breakfast restaurant. She flips a gathering of her long brown hair over her shoulder, her eyes wide in excitement.

"Wow! Look at you, fighter!" she giggles. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Umie breathes a laugh. Due to the humid weather, she now wears a ruffled blue, crop top and high-waist shorts. The spaghetti straps enable her bruises to shine through as they dot across her right shoulder down her arm stopping just above the elbow; speckles of blue and green dot across her shoulder blade.

"I'm just glad I didn't freeze that much when they spotted me." Umie says.

"I can't believe you did anything at all! You're lucky they didn't have a gun!" Nari nags.

"Lighten up already. I already feel bad enough that they got away with the painting. I don't need you telling me all about how you're right." Umie retorts.

"I hear that the Black Foxes are a ring of thieves who supposedly steal for the greater good. They're all over the TV and internet lately. I didn't think the really existed. I thought they were just an urban legend!" Ranko exclaims.

"Legends are usually based on some version of the truth." Umie quotes.

"Hey, Tomb Raider!" Nari giggles, and Umie giggles back.

"I wonder if they were part of the Black Foxes." Umie ponders.

"If they were, I'm unimpressed." Nari boldly comments.

Umie looks to her shocked. "Why say that?"

"The way we beat their butts! I figured they be more like Garrett from Thief, or at least like in Skyrim." Nari rants.

"Are you saying you're glad they were easy and that we were able to get away?" Umie prods.

"Well no, it's just . . . I don't know." Nari pouts, taking a sip of the pink liquid with her straw. The ice clinks against her glass.

"So, are you sure you didn't see their faces?" Ranko continues on.

"The police asked us the same thing, and no. I can only tell that one had black hair." Umie finalizes.

"Dammit." Ranko lightly pounds her fist against the table. "I'd have the scoop of the century if you'd seen their faces, guys! I thought we were friends!" she fake sobs.

Umie stirs her straw unamused, Nari rolls her eyes. She fiddles with the clasp of her Opal bracelet as Ranko tackles Umie with more questions.

This bracelet was given to her by her grandfather, before he passed away. Umie has a similar one with amethysts. Nari's has a row of natural, eye-catching opals that luminesce between diamond-accented curlicues of sterling silver in this charming bracelet. The 7-inch bracelet fastens with a box clasp.

"Huh? You're all out of the Santa Fe Chicken?" a voice asks.

"Sorry, we just sold our last one." A waiter answers.

Umie looks to Nari's plate. They had some when she ordered, meaning she got the last one. Nari glances up to the man and Umie giggles.

The girls hear him groan. "Uggh . . . I came here just to eat that chicken, too!"

"Quite the baby." Umie mumbles.

"Shh!" whispers Ranko.

"Does he really want it that bad?" Nari snickers. "Well, I've already eaten half so . . . nothing I can do."

Umie watches as the man walks towards their table as it is closest to the door.

He's rather handsome. Seemingly soft, sandy blonde hair with soft brown eyes. He wears a deep blue-green shirt under a grey jacket, and just under the tips of his hair, there are two black studs in his ears.

"Hey." He says, and Umie freezes.

Nari freezes also and looks up to him, her mouth stuffed with the chicken. "Yeah?" she muffles.

"You got some Santa Chicken! Can you not look at me while you're eating! It's annoying." He snarls.

Nari swallows thickly and sneers. "You looked to me! I was obviously just enjoying my meal!" she snaps back. "Jerk!"

"Nari." Umie whispers leaning close to her ear.

"Hey. I'm sorry!" another voice chimes. "He really has a foul mouth."

The girls' eyes flick to a younger looking man with coppery-brown hair and eyes the color of a yellow topaz. He has on a simple graphic tee under a black and white striped cardigan and a couple of own-made necklaces. Plus, he has a cute smile.

"Hmm. Three girls and two guys . . . you wouldn't mind if we eat together?" he smiles.

"What?"

"Huh?"

Sounds good, right?" the boy waggles his eyebrows. Umie can tell he's peering down at her from above.

"Sure!"

"Ranko!" Umie and Nari say in unison.

"Thanks! Come on, Takkun! Sit down!" The coopery-haired boy coaxes.

The older male remains silent. Still he sits down across from Nari, and the other boy across from Umie. Takkun . . . is that his nickname?

"So what's your name?" Ranko asks.

"Me? I'm Hiro." He smiles. "So, what were you guys talking about just now? I heard 'Black Foxes'."

"We were just wondering if they really exist." Ranko answers.

"That ring of thieves just like Robin Hood, right? They don't steal to profit, but to return illegally obtained works of art to their rightful owners." Hiro explains.

"That's what I heard. And that's why they steal." Ranko smiles.

"It'd be pretty cool if they were real, huh?" Hiro smiles.

"Not really . . ." Umie mumbles, taking a sip of her water.

"Yeah, same. I mean they're still stealing." Nari adds.

"Whoa!" Hiro exclaims. "What happened to you?"

Umie looks up from her daze and realizes that he's looking at her bruising. "Allegedly that band of thieves came to the Field Museum last night in Chicago. And I was there."

"Wow." Hiro breathes.

"And if those thieves did this, then they're obviously dangerous." Nari states.

"Are you dumb?" Takkun interjects.

"Excuse me?!" Nari growls.

"I heard the museum got the painting that was stolen from the mafia in a black market deal." he states.

"That's nothing more than a rumor." Umie declines.

"You're pretty stupid for someone who works at a museum." He smirks.

Umie glares back, leaning forward on her elbows and crossing her arms. "You don't want to start a fight with me, smartass."

Nari shivers as her voice had dropped a whole octave lower. Still she adds on. "And what's wrong with you anyway? Calling people stupid. And we _volunteered_ there, okay!"

"Shut up!" Takkun responds back to Nari. "Stop yelling at everything!"

_What is his deal_? Umie thinks.

_Jackass_. Nari thinks.

She and Takkun stare at each other in silence. Umie has half a mind to say it out loud, but keeps it to herself as Nari purposely takes a big scoop of her Santa Fe Chicken.

Umie may have mentioned that they were at the museum, but none of them said anything about _working_ there, even if it is volunteer work. So she keeps a steady gaze on, Takkun.

"Hey, Takkun, stop being so mean to her. You'll drive away my soul mate if you keeping being mean to her friend." Hiro says.

"Huh?" Umie looks and finds Hiro looking to her. Hiro reaches out and softly cups his hands over Umie's. Umie looks to him, slightly disturbed, but doesn't retreat her hands.

"Wow . . . that is a beautiful bracelet." Hiro comments.

"Thanks." Umie shifts her right hand a little back, slightly uncomfortable. Hiro's eyes seem like they know everything. He smiles at Umie, who barely returns it.

After parting with Ranko and the boys, Umie hops in Nari's car and Nari drives them to Umie's house.

Shortly after their release from the hospital, Nari's parents had to leave for a bowling tournament in Kansas. And with the robbery still fresh in her mind, it didn't take long for her to invite Umie to stay the entire week that they're gone. They felt bad about leaving her, but Nari insisted they go with no guilt or hesitation.

She drives Umie back to her home to pack her things and pick up her car. Her parents only allowed Umie to stay as long as Umie texts them when they leave the house, or for when Umie's heading to work.

Toothbrush, toothpaste. Pillow, blanket. Spare clothes, extra undergarments. Shoes and socks.

As Umie packs a week's worth of clothes into her duffle bag, she mentally tallies off all the things she needs. Nari sits on her bed, petting her dog as Umie organizes her things.

"Don't you think that was strange, what that blonde guy said?" Umie asks as she tucks some deodorant into an inner pocket.

"What, calling me stupid? More like rude." Nari answers, scratching Umie's dog's ears.

"No, not that. The fact that he knew we were working at a museum."

"Well I remember you did mention it while talking with Ranko."

"I said we were there for the _burglary_. I never said anything about _working_ there. And you mentioned that we volunteered only _after_ he said something." Umie clarifies.

This makes Nari's face slowly morph from curiosity to surprise and disturbance. "Whoa, dude, that's freaky. Like that's . . . that's freaky!"

"I know! Like what the hell?!"

"Dude . . ."

"I feel like we should lock the windows tonight." Umie smiles.

Nari exaggerates her laugh. "Oh fuck yeah. And I'm keeping ma bat close."

Umie laugh and zips her bag shut. Nari follows her out and locks the house behind them. She drops her bag in her trunk and steps into her own car and watches Nari get into hers. After exchanging a signal, Umie follows Nari to her house and parks in the driveway.

"This is so exciting!" Nari squeals. "It's like we have the place all to ourselves!"

Umie laughs as Nari unlocks the door and soon their both greeted by Nari's dog. He's a Dalmatian with one black ear and one white, and a black spot over one eye.

"Hi Delly! Look who's here!" Nari chirps.

"Oh, hope you don't mind but I grabbed your mail." Umie says wavering envelopes.

"That's fine. What's there?" Nari giggles.

"Uh some flyers, a gas bill, coupons, our life it so boring." Umie lists and Nari laughs. "Hey, there's something else here."

"Huh?"

"A letter." Umie says holding up a white envelope.

"From?"

"Uh, it says," Umie rips the envelope and pulls out a pink card. "We're coming to get you tonight. – The Black Foxes"." Umie reads.

Nari's eyes grow concerned and Umie's heart skips a beat.

"The Black Foxes?"

"I guess. But maybe it's just a prank." Umie suggests.

"I don't know a lot of pranksters in my neighborhood." Nari denies.

"What about Anthony across the street?"

"Eh, he grew out of that."

"Let's just not think about it. The robbery was yesterday, it's over." Umie says.

"Okay, I guess. What time is it?" Nari asks.

"Uh, about nine o'clock at night."

"What?! Crap!"

"What?!"

"My Toontown!" Nari exclaims.

Umie rolls her eyes. "Don't scare me like that. I thought something was wrong."

"Something I wrong! I need to play Toontown!" without another word, Nari dashes upstairs, her pounding feet muffled by the carpeted steps.

After ripping and tossing the card, Umie follows her upstairs, calling Delly after her. Nari still stays in the clothes she wore the hospital while Umie goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. After washing her face, she brushes her teeth when she hears a popping sound on the roof. Instinctively she looks up at the skylight directly above the sink. The night sky is as black as ever with no clouds or a single ray of moonlight. She squints her eyes and peers closer when she hears Nari shriek.

"Silly what are you doing?!" she screams. "Stop?! You stop Silly!"

Umie rolls her eyes and rinses her mouth. She changes into an old t-shirt and pajama shorts before plopping onto the bed to watch Nari play her game.

"What's going on?" Umie asks laughing.

"I don't freaking know!" Nari yells. "This kid! Like seriously, this kid is literally being the rudest person I have ever met in my entire life! He's only level twenty, he shouldn't even be here!"

Umie can't help but laugh at Nari's furry towards the cartoon dog. She takes out the charger to her phone and plugs it into the wall outlet next to the bed. While Nari plays her online game, Umie settles for playing a game on her PS3. Though it's rather had to concentrate when Nari's constantly screaming at the screen of her computer.

"Where's the feather?! I don't know where the feather is! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Umie ends up rolling over laughing as Nari rubs her forehead.

"You know what, forget this. I'm over this! But I can't stop playing!"

"How much more time do you have left?" Umie asks.

"Like fourteen minutes."

When playing on the counsel gets too boring, she reduces to playing with her phone then going to bed. Nari's voice gets quiet shortly after.

It's around one o'clock in the morning when a noise wakes up Umie.

Umie jerks convulsively. She rockets upward and grips the sheets beneath her. She listens carefully to the silence of the house. She scans there perimeter of the room, searching the silent mesh of shadows for any signs of movement.

The surroundings lay still, quiet – empty.

Umie does her best to keep her breathing in check. She swallows, forcing her panic level down while she waits for each of her senses to check in, to confirm that there really is nothing there.

But her heart refuses to match the quietness or slow down.

Then there's a rustle coming from downstairs.

Umie gently pats Nari's shoulder so that she doesn't startle. "Nari. Nari!"

"Mmm . . . ?"

"Wake up!" Umie hisses.

"What . . . ? What? What is it?!" Nari sits upward.

"I heard something." Umie speaks, her voice barely above a whisper. "Downstairs.

"Seriously?" Nari's voice shakes.

Suddenly Delly growls.

Without hesitation, Nari grabs her Louisville slugger and swings her legs over the side of the bed, and her bare feet hit the carpeted floor.

Nerves prickling, Nari takes a step towards the hall, and then another.

"You're going down there?"

"Yes. Please come." Nari nearly begs.

"Well I need a weapon!" Umie seethes.

"Then pick something!"

Umie looks around but nothing else seems like a proper weapon. She remembers Nari has a paper-machete keyblade from Kingdom Hearts, but that's downstairs along with the guitar for her Rock Band game, and the poker from her fireplace in the family room. Umie swears.

As Nari moves closer, she has to fight the urge to rush forward and slam her door shut, knowing all too well that locking her and her best friend in would block whatever it was out about as well as closing her eyes and pretending she is somewhere else.

"Let's just go." She grumbles.

"What about you're weapon?"

"I'll think of something."

Peering out into the hall, she glances downward, through the banister rungs of the landing. The entire living room is bathed in darkness. The only light comes from the moon as it floods through the window above the front door. Umie notices an aqua globe in the potted plant at the landing. Umie creeps down and pulls it out, keeping the thin end in her grasp.

"Okay, you go on ahead." Nari ushers.

Umie glances back, but doesn't argue. Gripping the banister with her free hand, Umie begins further down the stairs.

"Should we split -?"

"Fuck no." Nari instantly declines.

Tightening her grip on the aqua globe and, moving steadily, they continue down the stairs, their steps keeping time with the ticking of the clock. They make their way down and to the right into the darkened living room; the interior of which stands unoccupied aside from its menagerie of familiar furniture and silhouettes.

Someone abruptly grabs Umie from behind.

She starts to scream, but a hand claps over her mouth. It smells like soap and it's big enough to cover the lover half of her face. Umie thrashes, but the arms holding her are too strong.

"Umie!" Nari screams.

"Shh! I'm not gonna hurt you, just be quiet!" a voice whispers.

"Mmmph!" Umie bites down on one of the fingers.

"Ow! The rough voice cries.

Immediately, Umie brings her heel up, hard, between his legs. A high-pitched cry hitches in his throat, stopped before it really began, and his hands go limp for a minute. In that moment, Umie twists her body as hard as she can and breaks free. Nari stands off against a silhouette standing in front of the window. The girls stand back-to-back at their attackers, their hearts pounding louder than a war drum. Both struggling to breathe. Their chests hurt.

"Hey, I have teeth marks! You bit me way too hard!" the thief, smiles.

"You're pretty violent, huh?" a voice says.

Umie and Nari look to find Hiro, the boy from before standing next to the black-haired thief from the museum.

"You!" Umie growls to the black-haired thief.

"I can't believe you bit him." He smirks. "Are you a girl or a dog?"

Umie growls. She goes to swing the aqua globe, hoping the spherical end with crash into the man's skull, but he blocks it and swings it down. Umie brings her leg up and it lands in his side. When she spins in to elbow him in the stomach, his hand grasps her elbow and then the other. Umies till keeps a grip on her aqua globe.

Nari goes to swing for Hiro, but the taller thief grabs the bat from behind. Nari lets him tug her closer, then drives the heel of her foot into his toes. He cries out and Nari is able to yank and swing her bat into his ribs. Still, Hiro grabs her from behind, making sure to toss the bat aside and holds her biceps in a vise-like grip.

As Umie continues to thrash, the black-haired thief snarls. "Be quiet and stop squirming!"

"Go fuck yourself, shit-face!" Umie shouts.

"Yeesh, quite the foul-mouth." Hiro comments.

"Why are you guys here?!" Nari adds.

"We, told you guys we were coming to get you." The black-haired thief says, his voice calm

Umie pauses. "That weird card? What the hell do you want?"

"We're after these." Hiro smirks. He holds up both of the girls' bracelets. Their stones sparkling in the icy moonlight.

"My bracelet!" the girls say in unison.

"Give that back!" Umie thrashes even harder in the black-haired thief's arms.

"Look, that's a memento from our grandparents!" Nari says, her voice suddenly quieter and shaky.

"I propose a trade." The black-haired thief speaks.

"Trade?" Umie's voice hitches.

"If you want your bracelets back, you have to come with us. _Quietly_." He slyly smiles.

Umie snarls. She repeats her motion from before, driving her foot between the black-haired thief's legs, then brings her elbow up to thrust it towards his face. It catches at the end of his chin, but not hard enough to do any damage.

She goes for Hiro but he spins out of the way and the tall thief tosses Nari to Hiro. "Enough!" the tall thief affirms.

Umie freezes instantly when she feels a gun barrel pressed to her spine. Nari gasps.

Are they serious?

"Don't worry." He whispers. "We won't do anything reckless.

"That's not convincing when I have a gun pointed at me!" Umie hushes in spite.

Hiro releases Nari to Umie and the two girls clutch one another as the back-haired thief leads them out of the house. Nari watches as Hiro locks the door behind them with a bobby pin.

The black-haired thief leads them out to a pitch-black van with no license plate. Foreboding fills the girls, and oil poison that makes them queasy. Nari's grip on Umie tightens.

Hiro presses his palm against the middle of Umie's back. Without a jacket, the heat from his body scorches Umie's.

"Get in," he says.

Umie snatches his hand, crushing Hiro's fingers in hers, and spins until his arm is pinned behind his back.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

Releasing Hiro's hand, she refuses the assistance of the tall thief closest to them and climb into the back of the truck.

Umie tries not to think about the fact that she's not wearing a bra as she fastens the seatbelt. Nari sits closely to her and does the same. Her hands are shaking as she tries to fasten it.

"What's going to happen to us?" she whimpers to Umie.

"I don't know. But we'll get through this. It'll be okay." Umie falsely promises.

Both girls keep their gazes out the window as the black-haired thief drives. They both notice the familiar root towards a bar in downtown Downers. They follow Hiro inside to find the rude boy from before.

"You!" Nari exclaims.

"Shut up, Chicken Girl." he grumbles.

"Oh-ho, clever comeback." Umie bitches. "What kind of nickname is that?"

"Leave them alone." the black-haired thief defends. "Let's just explain everything."

"You shut up to, Leader!" Takkun snaps.

_Leader_? Umie thinks.

"Well if it isn't Nari and Umie!" a voice chirps.

Both girls whirl around to find an older gentleman coming out from the back room. He as slightly longer hair with a goatee and glasses. He wears a black button-down and a simple gold chain necklace.

"We finally meet after all this time!" he smiles.

"Who the hell are you?" Umie demands.

"I'm the boss of the Black Foxes. I guess."

"For a boss, he doesn't seem too sure of himself . . ." Nari whispers to Umie.

"Alright, what do you want with us? Why did you bring us here?" Umie demands.

"You're bracelets." He answers.

"What about them?" Nari chimes.

"You got them from your grandfathers, correct?"

Umie and Nari look to each other in surprise.

"How did you know that?" Nari asks.

"You grandfathers were great artists and inventors." The boss says.

"So we've heard." Umie nods. "But my grandfather died when I was sixteen."

"And mine passed away when I was, younger." Nari adds. "But it was about a day after the death of Umie's."

"Hmm . . . So you don't know that they were both partners?"

"P-partners?!" Nari stutters.

"They knew each other?"

"And they made amazing creations. They were the Wright Brothers before the Wright Brothers." The boss laughs. Umie slowly stands in front of Nari. "But many of their valuable creations and inventions have fallen into the wrong hands. And we're stealing them back, to recover them."

"Recover?" Umie repeats.

The boss looks down and away, his smile faltering. "His creation and inventions. We can't stand the bad guys profiting from them."

"And what does this have to do with us? We know so little about our grandparents, or more rather our memories have, faded." Umie asks.

"He left behind one last masterpiece." The boss says.

"And we need you to help us get it." the tall thief adds in.

" . . . Us?" Nari clarifies.

"Yes, we've been looking for you girls for a long time. And thanks to the bracelets, we found you." He gently smiles.

"So . . . you're after the bracelets?" Nari tries to simplify. "You could've just taken them and leave!"

"No, that's not it." the leader says. He grabs Nari's wrist and she squeaks in surprise. Umie grips her shoulders and pulls her close. "What we want are your fingerprints!"

"For what?!" Umie questions.

"To find the creation." He answers.

Nari wrenches her wrist away. "Okay, wait I'm confused. So are you after the bracelets or not?"

"Dummy. The bracelets were just symbols. We need your fingerprints." The leader smiles. "And now it's time to celebrate. Because you're about to become members of the Black Foxes!"

"What?!" the girls say in unison.

"Quiet." The leader orders, pointing the gun at them again.

Umie instantly stands in front of Nari.

"If you won't join us, we can't let you get away. It's too dangerous, now that you've seen our faces." He explains.

"And whose fault is that, dipshit!" Umie gnarls. Now that she knows they're of some value to the thieves, they can't risk killing her. She can't help but flick her gaze to the tall thief.

"If you work with us to recover the artifacts, you can return to life as normal." The leader clarifies.

Umie looks to Nari, who only shrugs. If they say no, will they kill them? No, they could've done it at the house. But he seems serious . . .

The Umie thinks back to the dream she had in the hospital, compared with Nari's dream and the thieves' need for their bracelets and their knowledge of their grandfathers.

Perhaps they were trying to tell the girls something . . . it's all too, coincidental.

Seeing Umie process something is like watching the inside of a watch, the gears all turning, shifting, adjusting, working together to form a particular function, which in this case is to make sense of their, unusual situation.

"You need our fingerprints, we get that. But we're not too sure about becoming ac criminal." Umie states.

"Not too sure?!" Nari repeats. "This isn't freaking Skyrim! This is real!" she says to Umie.

"Not a criminal. THIEF." Hiro rephrases.

"It matters!" Umie snaps.

"Regardless, we're not going to help you commit crimes!" Nari states.

"We're not committing crimes. We're setting things right." The leader rephrases.

"Well, Umie and Nari are just regular girls. No wonder they get scared when they hear the word thief." Hiro smirks.

"Don't worry." The tall thief says. Umie and Nari look to him. "We won't make you steal anything. Just join us, okay?"

"Not like we really expect much out of you anyway." Takkun says.

" . . . So all we have to do is join?" Nari asks.

"If they're going to be a pain in the ass, why don't we just cut off their fingers?" he grimly smiles.

"Oh. Here's a finger for ya'!" and Umie flicks him her middle finger. Nari can't help but snicker, as well as the tall thief.

"All right . . . all right." The boss stabilizes. "Now then, who's going to be Nari and Umie's babysitters?"

"Babysitters?" Nari repeats.

"Yep. We need you both, so we don't want anything to happen to you." Boss says. "So, someone will be your partner, and stay by your side to take care of you.

"Hmph, are you always this charming or are we just lucky?" Umie sarcastically remarks. She finally folds her arms, signaling she's at least doesn't find them threatening anymore.

"We're all pretty good guys, you know." Boss laughs. "But there's no telling what could happen if you try to get in the way."

Mari and Umie look to one another, and Umie finally takes a seat at a bar stool.

"And just how do you plan on explaining all this to our parents? More importantly my parents? You have about a week before hers return." Umie points a thumb to Nari.

"What?" the boss asks.

"My parents are away for the week for a bowling tournament. And after the burglary, Umie's parents let her stay with me, for that week." Nari explains.

"Don't worry. Leave it to us." Kenshi assures.

"Well that just instills me with confidence." Umie snips.

"So, who's it gonna be?" boss asks.

Names then get passed around. The leader of the pack goes by the name of Riki. The blonde-haired boy, Takkun, his full name is Takuto, and he's the 'intelligence' specialist. There's Hiro, the youngest and master of disguise and claims to have a sharp eye. The Boss, who is Atsumu Kashiwabara. And the tall thief goes by the name of Kenshi.

Umie leans against the bar countertop her eyes scraping over each member. Nari looks to her and can't help but giggle. There's no denying they're all, attractive to an extent. For any other girl, this would be a dream come true, having to choose between so many handsome young men.

Still . . .

"You pick first." Umie states.

"Okay." Nari nervously pats her cheeks. "Oh my Jesus."

She looks at all the guys, trying not to snicker at Hiro's playful wink.

"Sometime today." Riki comments.

Nari shoots him a look of absolute loathing.

"I, I can't choose!" Nari says. And Umie rolls her eyes and sighs.

"Then I'll choose for you." Boss says.

"Takuto, you'll watch over Nari. Kenshi, you'll go with Umie."

"What?!" Takuto yells. "Bullshit I'm not watching over her! Are you shitting me right now?!"

"Uh, hello?!" Nari snaps back. "I'm right here!"

"I'd have better chances with her dog of a friend." Takuto continues, ignoring Nari.

"You're no panty-dropper yourself there." Umie snipes.

"Why would you do this to me?"

"Because we need to get this on the road and there's no time to be indecisive." Boss answers, clearly Unphased by Takuto's tantrum.

"You know, I'd say we're off to an awful start, but that moment's way passed." Umie retorts.

"By the way, it's nice to meet you." Kenshi says extending out a hand. Umie eyes it carefully, and after a moment, she takes it and shakes it.

Riki approaches Umie and leans one elbow on the countertop. "At least you won't have a problem with Kenshi. I'm sure he has a room or two in his house he can put you up in."

"Hey, hey . . . I never said that." Kenshi retorts.

"Wait a minute, are you saying I have to stay at his house?!" Umie asks, though now she feels a tug of guilt at sounding so rude.

"Of course! Now then! Let's all just get settled for the night shall we?" Boss says with a clap of his hands.

"Hey!" Umie calls. "I just met him today, I can't stay at his house!"

"Well then, is your place big enough for Kenshi to stay with you?" Riki asks.

"Not unless he wants to meet my parents." Umie says.

"You won't have a problem with space at Kenshi's house." Hiro assure.

Umie gives him a questionable look.

Kenshi walks up. "Let me guess . . . you're thinking I'm some spoiled rich kid, right?"

"Well, spoiled seems like a bit of a stretch for you." Umie says.

"Well, I'm not." Kenshi laughs. "My house is just big."

"Doesn't that mean you're rich?" Umie asks leaning into him.

Kenshi merely shakes his head.

"Wait, well where am I supposed to stay?" Nari demands.

"I could just bring you back to your place." Takuto says. "Like I need you and your big mouth keeping me up at night with questions."

"Wait." Umie stops. "I have a request."

"Seriously?" Takuto whines.

"Well since you kidnapped us from her home in the middle of the night, and you're forcing us to join your little band of thieves, I think you owe us this much, Jonathan James." Umie bitches.

Kenshi and Riki snicker.

"My only request, is that we stay together." Umie says. "This is all completely crazy and happening all at once. I think it would just be better if we stayed together. That's all I'm asking."

The group exchanges some looks and Kenshi shrugs his shoulders. Riki twitches his head and sighs. "All right. You both can stay upstairs here at the bar."

"There are rooms here?" Nari asks.

"Yep." Boss replies. "I live here, so is a spare room with bunk beds."

"How about I take you back to Nari's place so you girls can get your stuff?" Kenshi suggests.

Umie nods. "Sure."

After gathering their things from Nari's home, they make a quick change of clothes and return to the car, where Kenshi waits with his arms crossed.

"That's all you're bringing? Here, give it here. I'll carry it for you." Kenshi says.

"Huh? I can do it." Umie denies.

"It's fine. I'm not gonna take it and run."

"Not that there's anything useful to you in there anyway." Umie cracks a smile. She tilts her head to observe Kenshi.

"Hm. What is it?"

"You're a . . . god guy, huh?" Umie asks, folding her arms.

Kenshi shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know, I think I'm pretty normal."

"Normal people don't steal. Though honestly, it's hard to believe you're a criminal."

"Not a criminal." Kenshi reminds holding up a finger. "A thief, okay?"

This time Umie smiles and chuckles. "You're pretty picky about that, huh?"

"Yeah."

Once back at the bar, the girls follow boss upstairs. "Me casa eh su casa!" he phrases.

The leads them to the second floor and a room above the bar. The room is about the size of Nari's upstairs gaming room, with bunk beds shoved up against one wall. A across from it on the opposite wall, a small huddle of chairs and a coffee table in the corner, a gaming system and a small bookshelf. There's a bathroom across the hall.

"I used to rent out this room to part-timers, but no one live here at the moment." Boss assures.

Umie steps in and plops her bag onto the top bunk. "Thanks."

"Don't worry, everything's clean."

"Thanks Mr. Kashiwabara." says Nari.

"You girls can just call me boss." He smiles and leaves the girls to themselves."

"I still can't believe this is happening!" Nari suddenly bursts. "We just got indoctrinated into a band of thieves, we're living with some old dude, being babysat by some old man and -!"

Nari suddenly stops when she sees Umie sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk, gripping the wooden farm with clawed fingers.

"Umie?"

Umie lowers her head.

The thought makes her want to laugh. And then scream.

She curls up so she can press her face to her knees.

No matter how she sugarcoats it, they got kidnapped. And are being held captive.

The nice act is a facade.

She has to make a plan. If she makes a plan, she won't be so afraid.

But there is no plan. No escape from the bar. No escape from the Black Foxes. No escape form what she's just done to herself and Nari. Her grandfather is the only thing that she grips with desperate fingers to keep from screaming.

Nari can tell that her mask of bravery has finally collapsed. She's been acting so strong that now she's become overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry." Umie whimpers.

Nari sits next to her and wraps her arms around Umie's shoulders. "It's okay." She whispers.

Nari rubs her back and keeps whispering as Umie sobs into her knees.


	3. Chapter 2

The phone clock's neon-blue digital numbers read eight thirty.

This is fairly the latest that Umie's woken up, and all the more reason why she's thankful it's the weekend. No school. No work.

Umie locks her phone and sets it under her pillow. Nari's soft snoring is the only sound in the room. Outside the side has risen and birds chirp. Umie carefully climbs down the ladder and walks through the second-floor hallway down to the bar. She gazes at the room, soft rays of the sun poke through the blinds.

Something about a place so early in the morning makes Umie happy. She softly smiles, despite the fact that they're being held captive in such a place. Umie exhales deeply, when a though occurs to her. No one is up this early, Boss doesn't open the bar until late afternoon. Quickly and quietly, Umie goes back to the room and changes into her exercise clothes.

The moment she leaves the bar, Umie instantly begins to speedwalk to the end of the block before taking a sharp turn left out into the main neighborhood. She walks faster and faster, until she's sprinting. Pumping her arms, she runs along the sidewalk until she reaches the first light, wincing as a headache pounds at her temples. Once the light turns red, she jogs across the crosswalk and keeps going. Sweat materializes on her forehead and she can feel drops from behind her ears drip on her neck.

Huffing and puffing, she doubles over, hands to her knees for a moment. Music blasting in her ears, Umie walks on until she reaches a small tunnel under the bridge near the small lake. There she presses her back against the moist stone and slides to the ground. Tears stream down her cheeks, and a weight settles on her chest, like each question is piling there. Tension builds inside until she can't stand to hold it in anymore – she has to cry, or scream, or . . .

Umie can't do any since she's in public and her scream could alert locals of some kind of murder. So she merely clenches her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms and tears seep from her eyes. None fall on her cheeks, but still when she stops, her eyes are watery and her palms have deep crescent shapes.

She keeps jogging until she gets to the corner where she would turn to head towards her old high school. Her music blares in her ears as she jogs steadily down the sidewalk. With her energy hyped up, she screams when she feels a hand grab her shoulder. Umie instinctively whirls around, smacking the hand off.

"Whoa, whoa easy." Kenshi says.

"Kenshi? You scared the shit out of me!" Umie huffs.

"Sorry, sorry. I tried calling you, but you had your earbuds in." he points.

Umie nods and pulls them out. "Look I know you're assigned to watch me, but I just went for a run" Umie starts defending.

"Hey, hey I wasn't stalking you if that's what you're thinking. I was just in the shop and saw you run by." Kenshi clarifies.

"And you stopped me because you thought I was running away?"

"No. But even if you did run away, we've already determined any possible places you'd run to." Kenshi says. Umie takes a cautious step back. "And if you run to anywhere not on our list, Takuto will figure it out in no time."

"That's quite the threat."

"I think it's more like being informative." Kenshi smiles. "And besides, living at the bar might just be the safest place for you."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when the time comes." Kenshi says.

"When the time comes? What are you a Japanese sensei?" Umie mocks.

"Just trust me."

"That's asking a lot." Umie says bitterly. With that she turns away and continues on her walk. She listens to the footsteps catch up with her and Kenshi's shadow casts over her as he walks with her. Umie has to resist the attempt to plug in her earbuds and ask him why he's following her. "Any reason why you're following me?"

"Well I need to pick up some things and they just so happen to be in this direction." Kenshi smiles.

"Oh." Umie nods.

"When do you start work?" he asks.

"Not until eleven. This'll give me a reason to shower since I didn't get the chance last night."

Finally she parts her way from Kenshi at the grocery market and heads back to the bar. She can hear dishes clinking and silverware chiming, signaling that he's getting ready to open up shop. Nari should be up by now, but she had better not be in the shower.

Umie heads upstairs and hears the shower going, and internally groans. With her body still sweaty, she's irritable; so she bangs on the door.

"Nari! Hurry up I've got to get to work!" she shouts.

"Who're you shouting at?" Nari asks her.

"You! And I -" Umie's eyes widen as she turns around. "Wait, if you're here, who's in there?"

Nari shrugs her shoulder. "I thought it was you since you already out of bed."

Just as she said that, the door opens, releasing steam like the breath of a dragon. Takuto steps out with a towel around his waist and another drying his hair. He looks to the girls, Nari's face red while Umie cocks an eyebrow at him in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Umie asks.

"I needed to shower. Oh, and about the hot water, I don't think there's enough." Takuto grins.

"That's fine I just came from a jog. You know what let me give you a hug."

"No! No!" Takuto blocks her off, annoyed.

Umie chuckles, "As charming as always." She bitches. Then she walks into the bathroom and states her annoyance with a reassuring slam.

"And you think I'm rude?" Takuto says as he heads down the hall.

"I – I don't know why she's like this." Nari stutters.

"What's wrong with you? That hamster fall off the wheel?" Takuto provokes.

"Y-You're so mean!" Nari blabs. She then whirls around heading back into the room.

"Hey!" Nari turns around, trying not to stare at Takuto's bare torso.

"When do you start work?" he asks.

Nari's about to reply when she remembers how he's supposed to be the brains. If he managed to find her house – the thought giving her a chill – why not smart-mouth him back.

"Figure it out." Nari replies, then heads into the room to ready for lifeguarding.

* * *

There's something about warm water and being alone that makes it easier to think.

Umie can feel the tension slide off her shoulders and swirl down the drain with the grime and sweat. Her muscles relax, and closed up in the small warm space, she feels safe.

Shutting off the water off the stepping out of the shower, she wraps her hair in a towel and pulls on another around her body. Umie gathers up her dirty, sweat-stained clothes. She leaves the steamy, warm bathroom, huddling into her towel as she passes through the frigid hallway and makes the ten-foot trek to her room. She shut the door behind her and, looking around, noticed that Nari hadn't bothered to close the curtains after she left. With a grunt, Umie drops her clothes into the hamper and goes to draw the curtains closed.

Sitting at the edge of her bed, she unwraps the hair from the towel-turban and pats it to soak up the extra moisture. She sets the towel aside and reaches for the metallic green hair dryer on the vanity desk and flicks it on to the lowest setting. Normally she'd let her hair air-dry, but seeing as how she's farther from work, she needs to time crunch a few things. With her free hand, she picks up her cell from the floor, plugged into the wall outlet to charge. Typing in her passcode, she checks for missed calls and texts. At least one text from her mom telling her to text her when she's at work.

Umie sighs. All things considered, it didn't surprise her.

After nearly drying her hair, Umie combs through it and outs it in a simple side braid. Securing her nametag to her shirt, she grabs her purse and hurries down the steps. As she's about to leave, her phone rings. She finds it's Katie and answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey Umie, it's Katie. Glad I caught you before you left. I was wondering if something has happened." She states.

Umie pauses, a chill tingling her spine.

"W-What?"

"I mean this was so sudden, I was just wondering if something personal had happened that caused you to quit." Katie explains.

The chill spikes up Umie's back.

"What?!"

As she retreats back into the bar, she leans against the bar counter, the phone still pressed to her ear. She tries to calm herself as she rubs her forehead.

"Uh, Katie listen I, I'm so sorry about this-."

"It's okay, if it's personal you don't need to explain yourself. I just wanted to call and explain to you about the final days of your schedule as well as your paycheck and such. We can talk over the phone or we can set a day that you're free to come in."

"Okay. Okay, um . . ." Umie stutters. "M-mind telling me what happened?"

As she listens, she hears a door click and Boss walks out with a set of napkins in each hand. A fiery bomb of anger explodes in her stomach.

"Okay." Umie says stiffly. "Thank you, I have to go, but how about I call you to set up the scheduale?"

"That'll be fine, just call whenever; although I will not be here on Thursday or Friday." Says Katie.

"Okay, that's fine. Thanks Katie, and again, I'm really sorry about all this."

"Not a problem." Katie chimes. "You have a good day."

"You too, thanks. Bye."

"Everything all right, Umie?" Boss asks as he finishes setting the napkins in their metal holder.

Umie folds her lips in, but smiles, a cold chuckle escaping her lips. "Hmm, funny you should ask, I'm about to head to work when Katie calls me and asks me if I quit."

"Huh?"

"What is going on?!" Umie suddenly shouts, slapping her palms on the counter. "Katie said that a very flirty-sounding man call her up this morning and said that Umie Estoque has run away to France, so please accept her resignation from Target?!"

"Huh?" Boss quirks a confused eyebrow at her. Either he wasn't bothered by her yelling, or he didn't care. "You heard it was a 'flirty' guy, and you came to me first?"

"Surprising to us both, you were the first one who came to mind." Umie snarls.

"Hmm," Boss smiles. "I see."

"This isn't funny!" Umie screams, her voice loud enough to scratch her throat. "Call back now and fix it!"

"Calm down, calm down. Look, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." Boss coos.

"Why not?!"

"Because. Look at this." He places a piece of paper on the counter. A map of the local area, including Downers Grove and Woodridge.

"What the fuck is this?" Umie growls.

"I looked it up according to your birth date. It's your direction fortune." says Boss.

"What does this -?"

"The bar is here, right? And see? Target is right here." Boss points to a gold star on the map. Umie remains quiet. "That's an unlucky direction."

Umie's never felt such anger boil in her stomach before. If it weren't for Nari and her parents, Umie would grab that knife at the end of the counter and shave of Boss's stupid goatee.

"_That's_ your reason?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What?! You shouldn't underestimate directional fortunes." Boss defends. "If you travel in an unlucky direction, it can ruin you, seriously! This is for you." He hands Umie a smaller version of a ragdoll. Button eyes, stitched smile and a blue overall dress.

"What is this? It looks like something you fetched from an asylum."

"It's a good luck charm, to protect you." Umie looks to him, gripping the doll's neck in her hand. "It'll protect you from any unlucky event . . ."

Umie instantly rips the doll's head off and chucks it at Boss. Before it even falls to the ground, she rips the map up and crumbles it.

"Hey! What was that for?! That was rude!" Boss exclaims.

"You're luck I'm not ringing _your_ neck!" Umie shouts back.

She whirl around and storms back upstairs. She throws off her work clothes and switches to a tank top and shorts with her black sneakers. Tearing her hair down and throwing it up into a messy bun, she grabs her ipod and phone.

As she heads back downstairs, a pinch of guilt hurts her chest a she sees Boss picking up the remnants of the doll, but it instantly deflates the moment their eyes meet.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"Fuck off." Umie growls as she heads for the front door.

"Umie, wait!"

"I said fuck off!" she pushes the door open with her hip and rushes out into the humid air.

The sound of cicadas is the first thing to reach her ears. She takes out her ipod and plugs in her earbuds. She clicks until the finds her song, then blasts it at nearly full volume. Guitars and crashing drums fill her ears, half of the singing replaced with screaming. The music blares full force.

"_Let's start a Riot! A Riot! Let's a Riot_!"

Umie keeps her gaze at the ground, feeling herself entering that concentrated state of mind. Her scowl face still showing, though now it feels like it's effortless to make. She wants to scream, or punch something, or break something. Instead, she has to settle for harshly kicking a stone into the road.

She's just crossed the street towards the Starbucks on the corner when she nearly crashes headfirst into a hard muscled body.

"Whoa, sor- . . ."

"Estoque."

Umie pulls out her earbuds, the roar of the singer's voice loud over the minimal bustling of people.

" . . . Kenshi."

* * *

"Walk!" Nari calls to a group of children.

Wrapped in their Disney and Transformer beach towels, they scurry off into the locker rooms to head to the vending machines. A local radio station plays "Bang Bang" as some adults leave for the hot tub room or to use the restrooms. The lifeguards of the pool had just called an adult swim, so all the little kids are heading towards the vending machines for a snack. A majority of the pool has young women who mostly just lay on their chairs to tan, leaving the pool open.

"You know I can rap Nicki's part." Nari says to Dawn.

"Really? Let's hear it."

Nari laughs. "It's Myx moscato, it's frizz in a bottle. It's Nicki full throttle, it's oh oh." Nari giggles. "And that's it."

With not many takers, and her skin on the point of setting ablaze, Nari takes off her whistle and sets it on her chair as well as her preserve and sunglasses. Her friend Dawn checks the registry while Kevin checks the temperature. With it being only eleven o'clock, the pool's majority crowd has vanished.

"Hey Kevin!" Nari calls.

"What?"

"Do you know magic?" Nari smiles broadly.

"Nari, don't."

"'Cause 'alaca-DAMN!"

Dawn bursts into a laughter as Nari laughs at Kevin shaking his head. Nari dives under the surface and swims until she passes the rope leading into the shallow end. She feels the water's movement over her face and nearly sighs as she feels it cool her heated face. She breaks the surface and spews out the chlorine. Stepping up the ladder, she heads back over to her chair and pats her face dry.

"Hey Nari," Dawn speaks.

"Yeah?"

"Since we're slow, you want to take your lunch?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, Kevin and I can handle when the break's over."

"We will?" Kevin calls as he scours the opposite side of the pool.

Nari laughs and thanks Dawn before she heads back into the locker room. She pulls on her staff shirt and takes down her hair, and pulling on her flip-flops. Navigating her way out the front door, she barely makes it past the gate when a voice calls her.

"Hey Nari!"

She turns to find an old schoolmate jogging his way up to her. Jon.

"Hey Jon." Nari pulls a smile.

"You off work?" he asks.

He was a bit of a nerd, and a weird one at that. His glasses, which Nari just knew they were fake, make his eyes smaller and it looks like he's never had braces. He had a thing, and probably still does, for Umie, and asked Nari once to Turnabout back in high school.

"No, I'm just getting lunch. Just trying to figure out where to go." Nari says.

"Mind if I tag along?"

Nari fights back a cringe. "Sure." She answers.

As he follows Nari to the parking lot, Nari tries her best to listen to what he's saying, but overall just wanting to get back to work. The thought didn't occur to her until they arrived, but Nari drove to work, and with her lunch place in mind, and Jon tagging along, she'd have to drive him.

"What should we eat?" Jon asks.

"I was thinking sandwiches." Nari answers.

As she unlocks the car, another voice calls her.

" . . . Hey."

Nari perks her head up and looks to find Takuto standing near the bumper of her car. Hands in his pocket, Nari can see a silver Malibu parked behind him. Nari goes rigid.

"Takuto?!"

"I've been standing here waiting for you to notice me! Do you even _have_ eyes?" he growls in annoyance.

"Sorry, I was busy!" Nari snaps back.

Takuto glares at her, and yet Nari can't get past the feeling of relief that he showed up.

"So, what? Do you want something?" Nari ask with irritation.

"W-Who's this? You're boyfriend?" she hears Jon ask. His tone a mixture of nervousness and intimidation.

"Oh, sorry Jon I forgot you were there." Nari says. "And no, he's not."

Just as the words leave her mouth, Nari feels Takuto's hand wrap around her arm. Like wrap; his long fingers coiling all the way around her bicep.

"Wha-! What are you doing?!" Nari demands.

Without looking, he drags Nari over to the Malibu.

"Nari?!" Jon calls.

"Where are you taking me?!" Nari demands once more.

"Get in." Takuto demands, though still he urges Nari inside.

Without sparing her a chance to apologize to Jon, Takuto gets in on the other side, revs the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. Nari expects his turns to be sharp, but they're smooth and controlled as they enter the main road and head straight.

"What an idiot." Takuto says after they pass the first stop sign.

"What? Me?"

"That moron." Takuto rephrases.

"Don't be mean!" Nari defends. "Why do you think that? Though he is wimpy, you don't know him."

"Well I guess some guys have to fall for a girl like you, huh?" Takuto slyly smiles.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nari snarls at him.

Takuto focuses on driving, and Nari notices his driving is smooth as well as his turns. She reflects back to how he grabbed her. It wasn't harsh like she expected, he didn't even shove her in the car, she stepped in despite his order. He may have a smart mouth, but at least he's not violent.

". . .hungry." he mumbles.

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

Nari snickers. "Okay."

After turning left and then right, Takuto ends up driving them to a pizzeria. Nari's slightly confused as he said he wanted Italian. Takuto leads her inside, holding the door open for her, and picks a booth fit for two. Nari holds her phone in her hand, nervous and eager to text Umie about what's happening, but she doesn't go on break for another hour.

"Have you decided yet?" Takuto folds his menu as their waitress, a thin young woman with straight-up-and-down figure, hovered close to the table. She wore red lipstick and a matching headband lined with silk flowers. Her dull expression reminded Nari of the blank look seniors got during the last few weeks before graduation.

"I think so." Nari says.

"The Veggie Napoli." She and Takuto say in unison.

Takuto glares at her, and Nari stares back with annoyance.

"Okay, I'll get that in." the waitress says after she jots down their order.

When she leaves, Nari pulls her lemonade towards her. Taking a sip, she swirled the pink liquid with her straw. The ice clinked against her glass, the sound seeming to drown out the thrum of the low chatter around them.

"You can tell she was trying not to laugh." Nari comments.

"Who cares?" Takuto retorts.

"I've never really met someone who likes their Veggie Napoli before . . ." Nari says. "I guess we do have similar tastes."

"It's annoying." Takuto says as he takes a sip of his green tea.

"I know, right?" Nari chimes. As she watches him text something on his phone, she realizes that they're alone. And since the Black Foxes weren't very forthcoming with much information before, or rather they didn't get the chance to explain, Nari decides to use the moment wo ask them everything she wants to know. There's no way he can say no.

'So, um . . . about mine and Umie's grandfathers . . ." This catches Takuto's attention, as his eyes drift up to her and he locks his phone. "I . . . we . . . don't know anything about them. So, did they create such amazing things?"

"Why else do you think we're after them?" Takuto answers. Umie can feel a vein bugle out of her head in irritation. Still she takes it in stride.

"This just doesn't seem real." She shrugs her shoulders. "I mean, we got kidnapped, we're being held hostage, and are on the hunt for priceless treasures. Sounds like an anime."

Takuto shrugs. "I guess it makes sense if he died when you were, what five?"

"Almost nineteen years." Nari mumbles, her gaze shifting in thought.

"Well, they both left behind a lot of things for science and the fine arts." he explains. "They were the original "Partner's in Crime.""

Nari leans forward in curiosity.

"Back when they were alive, science wasn't advanced like today, and the fine arts weren't understood well." He continues. "All the equipment back then was very, crude. Despite all that, it's said there's still no one who can rival their accomplishments."

"It's actually kind of funny. Umie always talks about how there's no one in her family who was into art as much as her. Like her parents aren't, so this is actually cool."

"And it's why everyone is after their creations."

"This is crazy." Nari chuckles. "They sound so, important."

"Haven't you ever seen their stuff?" Takuto asks.

"No, I don't think so."

Their food arrives, and even after the waitress leaves, they don't touch it.

"Shame. Maybe you two could've gotten inspired and taken after them." Takuto says. "Who knows, with your brains."

"Jerk." Nari grumbles.

"What, you got something to say?"

"Why are you so rude?" Nari bluntly asks.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"We only met yesterday! You don't know anything about me." Nari snaps.

"I know _everything_ about you." Takuto counters. His face darkens, a frightening gleam in his eye.

"What?"

"You told me to figure you out, so I did." He suddenly smiles slyly. "I found your house didn't it? And how do you think I knew where you worked?"

"Okay, that's seriously creepy." Nari says.

"What I don't understand is, you both work at a museum but you can't even recognize your grandfathers' own works?"

"We _volunteer_!" Nari rephrases. She decides to take a fork and stab at her pizza. "And I'm just working in the back rooms. Umie sits at the desk and takes calls. We don't every really take the time to explore."

"But even if you look at art, you don't think anything of it?" Takuto asks, taking a slice of the pizza.

"Well Umie always talks about you can feel the emotions of the artist and how they felt, something like that."

"Well at least she has _her _grandfather's blood in her. Maybe she can become their successor instead."

"It's weird to think there are so many people interested in their things."

"Oh, before I forget," Takuto chimes. "We need to stop at 'Le Renard Noir'."

"What for?"

"Something."

Nari rules out asking him more and changes subjects. "So that place it like your headquarters?"

"Yep."

"Huh." Nari picks at her straw wrapper.

Takuto suddenly goes quiet and Nari can't help but watch him eat. He looks so concentrated, it's, disturbing. As Nari finishes her slice, she smiles.

"Hey, Takkun?"

Takuto flinches. He suddenly starts to cough, hard.

"Whoa, whoa!" Nari exclaims. She pats Takuto's back hard. When she sees him glaring, she can't help but giggle. "I'm a lifeguard! I can help!"

He still coughs, and tries to talk. "You shouldn't talk to people when they're eating!"

"What?! You're saying it's my fault?!"

Takuto coughs again. "And . . . don't call me Takkun!"

"Sorry. I just heard Hiro calling you that, so I just assumed."

Takuto keeps coughing, his face reddening.

"Jeez, choke on your food a lot? Calm down." Nari pats his back harder.

Finally he calms down enough hand takes a drink of his tea. Nari exhales heavily in relief and sits back down in her seat.

"Jeez, you scared me there. And you ate half the pizza." Takuto shrugs, but smiles. "So, what do you want? Because I doubt you came here just to eat lunch with me."

"Of course not." Takuto snorts. "Like it'd want to see you unless I had to."

"Jeez, harsh." Nari glares.

"There's a mission tonight." Takuto says.

_Am I supposed to go_? Nari thinks.

"Obviously. You need to go."

Nari flinches. "Jeez, you just read my mind."

"I can't read minds, dope. But your face is easy to read, though." He says. "We'll meet at the bar."

"Okay."

"See you."

"W-Wait!" Nari stutters.

As she fetches her wallet, the waitress walks over with change. "Here you go, mam and be sure to come again."

"Uh, thank you?" Nari says taking the change.

_Takuto already paid_?

"How much do I need to pay back?" Nari asks.

"Don't need to."

"Oh, well does this come out of an expense account or something?"

Takuto looks to her confused. "Huh? No, course not."

"Oh." Nari says getting up. "Okay."

"You're in the way."

"What? Oh!" Nari looks to find a line behind her at the register. She apologizes to the woman behind her and gather her things.

"Come on. Let's go." He calls from the door. When Nari catches up to him, he places his on the small of her back, urging her to walk. Nari can't help but smile shyly as she thinks about the possibility that he could secretly be a gentleman.

Outside, darkness had stolen over the harbor while early dry leaves filtered down from branches, sprinkling on the brick walkway. Mottled sunlight glistens on still waters, mingling with the slightly warmer glow emanating from the tall lamps and storefront windows. Shoppers, walk around, swatting away bugs, sunglasses hiding their eyes, and hurried toward doors that would lead them to cool air. Above, troops of puffy-cheeked clouds waited in the sky, frozen in place.

"I need to get you to the bar before I see you off to work."

"What for?"

"Don't worry it's nothing bad." Takuto says with a hint of irritation.

They arrive at the bar before hours and Takuto leads Nari through the bar, his hand grabbing her arm. He leads her downstairs of the bar, and when she expects it to be dusty filled with barrels and crates and cobwebs, instead she finds a room that looks like it was extracted from the Capital of the Hunger Games.

There's all kinds of technical equipment around the room, boxes and old keyboards and towers and switchboards. Concurring one wall is a desk with a console of radio switchboards and a keyboard at the center. Around it are monitor screens, but the main one is the only active one. Speakers surround it with along with smaller green screens that mimic a heart monitor.

"Whoa . . ." Nari says. "Never would've expected this."

Of the two seats, Takuto takes a seat in one and holds out his hand.

"Give me your phone." He demands.

"What? What for?"

"You too poor to have one?" he smirks.

"I am poor, but I still have one." Nari sneers.

"Then let me have it."

Nari scoffs and hands him her phone, tempted to bop him upside the head.

"This model, huh . . ." he examines it.

Nari watches as he pulls out a retractable cord from one side of the monitor.

"Wait, what are you-?!"

Suddenly a window pops up on the main computer screen and Takuto instantly begins typing on the keyboard at ridiculous speed. Nari watches as another window pops up and this one is green with numbers scrolling up the screen, like he's hacking into it. This thought makes Nari's stomach queasy.

Then there's a couple beeps and a ding, and the screen drops down, then so does the second one. Takuto detaches the phone and the cord retracts back into the side of the screen. "Here." He says.

"What did you do?"

"I reprogrammed it." he bluntly replies.

"Repro-! What?! You can't do that?!"

"I just did."

"What - ?!" Nari checks her contacts, messages, photos, and everything seems the same. Nothing seems changed, and Nari checked everything. "Nothing seems different."

"Course it isn't."

"Then what's different?"

"I don't know."

"Pshhh! You don't know!" Nari stutters.

She looks and finds Takuto with a rather scary smile. He's up to something.

"Let's head out. We're done here." He says getting up from the chair.

"Well, hey wait!" Nari calls.

Suddenly her foot catches on one of the boxes. "Oww!"

"Stop tripping on everything. Idiot." Takuto snarks.

"Then try cleaning up a bit, huh? And add more lights, how can you even see?"

"I come down here all the time. I'm used to it." he answers. "Now come on, get up."

Takuto holds his hand out and Nari half expects him to take it away last minute, causing her to fall again. But when she reaches for it, he stretches further and grabs her hand first.

"Thanks."

Frankly, Nari is surprised. With his personality, one would think that he doesn't have a nice bone in his body, but then again, Nari know better than to judge someone so soon. You never know what they're going through.

"I'll ask Boss to put more lights down here." Takuto says as he leads her up the stairs.

"Thanks." Nari shyly smiles.

"Only because I really don't want to babysit you. The last thing I need is reporting to the team that you died because you're clumsy."

Nari chuckles as she follows him out.

"I'll drive you back to work." He says.

"Thanks." Nari smiles.

* * *

Umie sits at a swing set, the tip of her sneaker kicking up wood chips. Kenshi leans against the metal post after returning from a call on his phone. His face is stern.

"Boss told me everything. He made you quit your job, huh?"

Now that Umie had a chance to cool off, she feels ready to cry.

After bumping into Kenshi, and telling him about her job issue, he took her to a local park where he let her be alone while he made the call.

She folds her lips in and nods in reply.

"I'm sorry Umie." Kenshi says.

Umie shakes her head. "Why. Why would he do that?! How is that his business?!"

Kenshi stays silent, his fingers tapping his phone still in his hand. He looks down and away before glancing at Umie again.

"I need to get it back. I need to call Katie and make up a different lie and then maybe -" Umie stutters.

"Wait, wait. Slow down." Kenshi suddenly stops her. She looks up and Kenshi steps in front of her kneeling down. "I'd like you to wait."

"What?"

"When this is all over, I'll make sure you get your job back. I promise. But for now, can't you just accept the situation?" Kenshi persuades.

"Why? Why should I?!" Umie's anger suddenly growing.

"I . . . can't tell you that." Kenshi submits.

Umie coldly snickers and springs up from her seat. "Of course." She growls.

She begins pacing up and down the wooden border between the playground and a blacktop. She constantly rubs her hands together and takes deep breathes to calm herself, her need to break something growing. But instead, tears fill her eyes and she sits down on a platform and cries. She fists her hands and braces her head between them, elbow to her knees. She ducks her head low to avoid having Kenshi seeing her face all red with eyes puffed and nose congested.

Umie huddles closer into herself, practically hunching over as she cries. She hears Kenshi's footsteps and turns her head away to avoid his gaze. Still, she feels his arm wrap around her and pull her towards him. His hand rubs her back as she tries to catch her breath.

"Look," he coos to her. "I promise I'll tell you when the time comes."

Umie snorts. She wipes her face with the heels of her palms and tries to take deep breathes. Kenshi gently smiles at her. Basically . . . she has no choice but to go along with this.

"But what am I going to do for money?" Umie asks.

"That's right. Well, you still live with your parents." Kenshi says.

"Yeah, but if I ask for money, they'll go like all, "What about the money you have?" Umie quotes.

"I guess."

"Yeah."

"Okay then. Come on. Follow me." Kenshi smiles.

"What? Where are we going?"

Kenshi takes Umie's hand and takes her to his car where he drives them off to town.

He parks in front of a large building, a fancy sign posted on the side wall of the entrance. Umie leans out the window.

"What is this place?" she nervously asks. "It looks fancy."

"It . . . kind of is." Kenshi smiles. "This is my family home as well as restaurant."

Umie's eyes widen. "Wait, you live here?! And you own a Japanese gourmet restaurant?!"

"Well, technically my mom runs the place." Kenshi rubs his hair.

"Seriously?!"

"Yep." Kenshi smiles. "We have a lot of stay-in servants so the palce is always lively. Come on in."

Umie nervously follows Kenshi inside. He has her waits at a table while he heads in back. Shortly after, he calls Umie in back. A woman of about mid-forties with a diamond-shape face, brown hair pulled up and dressed in a kimono stares at her.

"Hire this girl? To work here?" she asks.

Shock punctures through Umie as she realizes Kenshi asked to get a job for her. Not to mention his mom owns the restaurant. So he just asked his mom to hire a girl she never met to work at her high-end restaurant. Umie feels self-conscious as she adjusts her clothes, tempted to fix her hair.

"Haven't you been in a bind since a waitress quit?" Kenshi reminds. "What do you think, Mom? Atsumu recommended her."

"Oh, Acchan sent her? So she worked at Le Renard Noir before?"

"Yeah, something like that." Kenshi nonchalantly lies.

"I, I'm really about all this, I didn't expect him to do this, mame."

"Oh don't be dear. You looks adorable. It shouldn't be a problem. I'll hire you."

"R-Really?!" The shock on Umie's face must register, as well as a little bit of fear.

"Something wrong, sweetheart?"

"I, I'm just surprised. I didn't expect to get it on the spot." Umie forces a smile of excitement. "Thank you, just thank you so much!"

"Oh you can call me Satoko. My pleasure." She smiles.

"Good for you, Umie." Kenshi smiles.

"Don't looks a gift horse in the mouth." Umie mumbles to herself.

"So how did you two meet?" Satoko asks as she goes towards a thin closet.

"Oh . . . um . . ."

"I met her yesterday, actually, at Le Renard Noir," Kenshi covers. "She said she didn't have a job so I thought I'd bring her here."

"Oh I see. Quite the shame. I thought your flower had finally bloomed." Satoko sighs.

"No, no! It's not like that. Right Umie?" Kenshi says.

"Yeah, yeah. We're just friends." Umie defends.

"See?"

Satoko giggles. "Well, you're very direct aren't you? Personally I'd prefer Kenshi to date someone honest like you."

"Awww, thank you." Umie smiles.

Kenshi sighs. "How many times do I have to tell you, Mom? I'm not interested in love or getting married."

"Well getting married it a bit far off, but you don't want to fall in love?" Umie asks.

"Nope."

Umie is shocked. Kenshi seems like the kind of guy whom tons of girls would be after. He's bound to have had at least a couple of girlfriends. Maybe just some type of bad experience made him not want to date.

Umie tries not to focus on it as she follows Satoko towards the back room.


	4. Chapter 3

The break room in the restaurant was a rectangle room with lockers along on wall, a table with chairs opposite of that, and a water machine and fridge tucked in the corner. A fridge is on the other end of the room with a rack of hangers.

Satoko stands aside and announces that Umie as a new employee. "She's starting work here today."

Umie gives a look of nervous smile and salutes with two fingers to the girls. She makes a note not to be intimidated, they'll see her as easy prey. But then again, she may act so tough, when she asks for help, they'll make comments on why she can't do it herself. "Nice to meet you."

"If you have any questions, just ask me." Satoko says. "Now I want everyone to help her out, okay?"

Everyone nods their heads, some giving a vocal agreement. Umie shifts uncomfortably at the sight of all of them being Japanese, or close to it. With her Philippine side, she's bound to pull it off, along with her Irish fair skin.

"Especially you, Wakana. You're the closet in age to Umie, so I want you to take care of her!"

"Of course. Nice to meet you." Wakana smiles.

"You too."

Wakana looks almost Umie's age, perhaps even older. She has sleek black hair tied up in a traditional Japanese bun to go with her traditional attire. Her kimono is a stunning black with an intricate coy fish design along the bottom.

"Well then, I'll leave you all to your work." Satoko cheers.

_This is it_, Umie thinks.

After Mrs. Inagaki leaves, everyone starts to ready for work. Umie looks to Wakana and sighs.

"So, what should I do first?" Umie asks.

"First, you need to change into your kimono." Wakana replies with a snippy attitude.

_Oh boy_. "You have to wear a kimono for this job?" Umie asks.

"Of course!" Wakana replies with a, you-should-know-this tone. "It's a traditional Japanese gourmet restaurant! Hurry up and change into this!"

She tosses Umie a purple floral fan kimono with a fan design decorated with blue, pink, purple and white flowers accented with metallic gold.

To everyone's surprise, including Umie, while Wakana tries to catch her off guard, Umie catches the kimono with one hand.

"Thanks."

Umie can just feel her true personality rising now that Satoko's left. Umie looks straight back at Wakana as she's staring at her.

"Something I can help you with?" Umie asks with a hard tone.

"I heard you were an acquaintance of Kenshi's. Is that true?" Wakana asks.

"I don't see how that's your business." Umie bitches.

"Hmmm . . ."

"So this is the girl he was talking about, then?" one waitress asks.

"Whew, that's a relief. She's totally plain." Another pipes.

Umie fists her hands into the kimono at the atmosphere. Acting like children, all because they're jealous she's friends with a boy. A boy who's a thief. That would change their tune.

Frankly Umie could care less, in fact, since she could care less about this job in the first place, she'll beat the shit out of any of the girls if they dare piss her off. Looking around, they're big talkers, but the moment a punch is thrown, they'll cower.

"So, where do I change?" Umie asks.

"There's a room upstairs, you can go change there." Wakana says.

"Okay. Is there a manual on how to put this on?"

" . . . What, you can't but it on by yourself?"

"No, because I'm not fricking Japanese!" Umie counters.

"Is she for real? Why work here if you can't put on a kimono?!"

"Hey! Volcaloid reject. Shut it!" Umie snaps.

The girl has pale skin and blue eyes, but her hair is a blue-green and put in in pigtails. One would think she's trying to copy the style of the character. Her mouth drops open and scoffs. Still it shut her up.

"Anyway, you need to hurry up and change. There's lots of work to do." Wakana continues.

"Whatever." Umie waves Wakana off like a fly. As she mounts the steps towards the back Umie whirls around. "Oh, by the way. I can see you boner for Kenshi through your kimono!" she calls.

Wakana instantly flushes red, and whether it's from Umie's comment or embarrassment, Umie doesn't care. So long as she gets the last word. Several other waitresses snicker and giggle as Umie mounts the steps. Still when she gets to the room, she hurls the kimono across the room, grunting in nearly screaming in annoyance.

The unoccupied room is small with only a computer on one wall, a bookshelf adjacent to it, a bed along one wall.

"Fuck you, Boss!" Umie curses. She plops into the bed and groans. "Fuck my life. Bunch of lowlife bitches." She mumbles.

After calling the waitresses every last thinkable swear word she can, Umie pulls out her phone and types in the passcode ready to look up how to put one on.

"Estoque, what are you doing?" She hears Kenshi suddenly call.

"Kenshi?" Umie props up on her elbows.

Kenshi walks in, shutting the door behind him. He wears a simple black shirt under a blue and green flannel. A small dog chain around his neck. Umie's heart suddenly skips.

"Uh, how much did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Nevermind." Umie dismisses, and thankfully Kenshi doesn't pry.

"Shouldn't you be working?" he asks sitting in the computer chair.

Umie coldly snickers. "About that . . ."

"What?"

"I haven't even _started_ working here, and already I hate it."

Kenshi's eyes widen and his eyebrows narrow. "Why?"

"It's nothing to do with you or Satoko, I just hate my co-workers. They get all bitchy at5 me because I don't know how to wear a kimono."

"I see. You don't wear them normally do you?" Kenshi smiles.

"No duh."

"Let me help you, then." Kenshi suggests.

Umie gives him a look of disturbance. "Uh, don't you think that's kind of strange?"

"How? You need to put it on."

"Yeah, but are you sure it's a, good idea to help me change . . .?" Umie carefully implies.

Kenshi's cheeks turn a soft pink. "Riiight. Sorry." He nervously clears his throat. "I'll just look the other way. Just frappe the kimono over you. You can manage that, right?"

"Let's hope so." Umie jokes, crossing her fingers.

Kenshi chuckles as he turns and allows Umie to undress. Even with him turned away, Umie still feels self-conscious as she pulls down her jeans. Her stomach not the flattest, and her skin not the clearest, she quickly pulls the kimono over and folds it shut like a robe. The silk feels cool at first then slowly grows warm to her skin.

"Okay, it's on." Umie says.

Kenshi turns and examines her. "Okay. Do you know which way to wrap it?"

"No." Umie bluntly answers.

Kenshi laughs. "Okay. Fresh start." He says clapping his hands. "You wrap the right side over you first, then the left. So the left is on top."

"Okay . . . but why does it matter?"

"See, if the right side if on the bottom, your right hand can reach the inside pocket."

"These things have pockets?!" Umie exclaims. To this Kenshi bursts into laughter.

"Yes." He laughs.

"Cool!" Umie smiles.

"Okay, so now is the obi . . . can you come over here?"

"Jeez you're good at this." Umie mumbles.

"Okay, that should do it." Kenshi finalizes.

"I can't believe I now have to do this every day I come here." Umie pouts.

"Well, just practice." Kenshi smiles.

"I will."

"That's a good girl." Kenshi smiles rubbing Umie's head, messing her hair.

"Eyye! Kenshi!" Umie giggles and whines at once. "My hair's messed up."

"Oh, it is." Kenshi snickers. "And you have to work. Sorry, it's a habit of mine."

Umie sighs. "It's fine. Thanks for helping me."

"No problem."

"So, do I do anything with my hair?" Umie asks.

"Uh . . . well, I don't think you have time, but normally you wear it up. You've seen my mom and the other waitresses." Kenshi reminds.

"Right. Great, now I need to practice that too, but at least I like doing my hair." Umie says. "So, how do you now have a girlfriend?"

"Huh? Me?" Kenshi asks as he watches Umie braid a section of her hair. "You heard what I said to my mom. I'm not interested in dating."

"Not at all?" Umie speaks as she holds a bobby pin between her teeth. She takes it, parts it and feels it scrape against her scalp. "But there's bound to be tons of girls who want you. Several being some of my co-workers." She mumbles that part softly.

"Awww, you're just saying that to be nice, Estoque."

"Seriously, I mean it!" Umie smiles and finishes pinning and braiding her hair. "Okay, this'll have to do."

She braided pieces of hair and made it into a half crown. She gathers her things and Kenshi lets her stuff them into a dresser posted next to the bookshelf. With no more wooden shoes, Umie's left with wearing her flip-flops.

"Not bad." Kenshi smiles as she tickles the end of her hair.

"Thanks." Umie smiles. "But seriously, you're nice and polite. I think you'd be popular with girls. And not in like a womanizer or anything, but really just genuine."

"Really?" Kenshi grins at her as they go down the steps. "But . . . I just can't."

"Why not?"

Kenshi shrugs. "Even if I had a girlfriend I lived, how could I tell her I'm a thief?"

"You don't have to. Or you can just quit." Umie points out. "Stealing's a crime anyway."

"You're pretty harsh, aren't you?"

Umie feels her cheeks grow warm. "Well, n-not intentionally. Gahh, I know I can sound shred with my words, but I don't ever mean to."

"It's fine, it's not your fault. I can tell you'd never hurt someone intentionally." Kenshi pats her shoulder. "But . . . please don't say that anymore. Okay?"

Umie nods as they enter the break room.

Kenshi leaves to attend a morning job, and Umie quickly gets to her work as a waitress. Most of the girls don't talk to her, which is fine. Truthfully Umie has no interest in befriending them at all after their first impression.

After watching some the waitresses, and raking through her memory on how she's seen other waitresses act, she realizes the only thing she needs to work on is carrying the food. Thankfully they carry them on trays instead of on their arms like she's seen in the finer dining places. Heck, they even have carts for waitresses to deliver the food.

As she reenters the kitchen, she can't help but wonder why it is Kenshi's even a thief. His whole persona goes against it, and he seems like the last person you'd suspect. Then again, that could be used as advantage since cover is a big thing when it comes to crimes.

"Order up!" the chef calls. "Take this to the Chrysanthemum room."

"On it!" Umie calls.

The chef looks to her, rubbing his chin. "I don't think I've seen you before."

"Oh, I just started today." Umie smiles. "I'm Umie. Umie Estoque."

She extends out her free hand and the chef takes it with a firm grip and wide smile. When Kenshi said they have a lively staff, he wasn't kidding. Deciding he's worth it, Umie drops her guard.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Genzo. But you can call me Gen." he smiles.

"Nice to meet you, too." Umie smiles.

"Do your best!" he calls as she heads for the exit door.

"I will." Umie pushes open the swinging door with her hip and exits with the food.

The restaurant itself is always busy, but it helps pass the time. The interior design ix harmonious with the type of cuisine. Black tile dominates the floor and walls, along with the booth seats. While the tables are glass, each have a bamboo centerpiece while a hand-painted mural of a cherry blossom tree and Japanese garden sprawls along the wall. A waterfall and coy pond take up a large portion of one corner, while multicolored lanterns swings along rafters. Deeper in the back is the bar, and private party rooms. The rooms are divided by shoji screen dividers, and each one has a specific theme.

As Umie pushes aside a screen divider, she apologizes for the wait. Then when her eyes find the table, she finds two familiar faces.

"What, you're working here now?" Riki asks. Dressed in a suit and tie, he sits with Hiro and Kenshi.

"You look good in a kimono, Umie." Hiro giggles.

"Hey guys." Umie speaks through her surprise, though she finds herself not smiling. And greeting anyone, it's usually like a reflex. "What are you two doing here?"

"A meeting about our next mission."

"Restaurants with private rooms like this are perfect for secret meetings." Hiro exclaims.

The divider slides open and in steps Kenshi. "Hm? Hey Estoque."

"Hi, Kenny! Food just got here." Hiro smiles.

"Oh, Estoque brought it?" he smiles taking a seat. "I'd like a beer, too."

"Sure, no prob." Umie says as she leaves.

A meeting about the next mission. Wonder who the target is. What's strange is that Umie finds herself excited. Nari would probably say she's played too much of her THIEF game, but maybe it's because of the excitement finally brought into her – admittedly – dull life. Though she wonders if this if more just like a briefing since the others aren't around.

Once she grabs the beer from Genzo, Umie make her away back to the room. "Sorry for the way, Kenshi. Here you go."

"Thanks." He smiles. Without being asked, Umie readies herself to leave when Kenshi stops her. "Hey listen, we'll talk more tonight at the bar."

Umie looks over her shoulder and nods. She then steps out, sliding the divider shut behind her.

That night, after Nari got off her shift, the girls met upstairs to talk about the day. Once Umie told Nari of Boss's medaling, she practically had to restrain Nari from barreling down the steps to strangle his throat. That was something Umie wanted for herself. Not to mention Nari had to calm Umie down when she was told how Takuto reprogrammed her phone. These boys seem to be more trouble than their worth.

The girls remain in their rooms as they wait for the other boys to get home from their day jobs. Meanwhile, Umie and Nari are puzzled as to what they should wear.

"I never went undercover before. What are you supposed to wear?" Umie asks as she holds a black leather jacket in front of her.

Nari shrugs. "I doubt it's about fashion." She remarks.

"Hmph, could've fooled me with the way they dress. And I doubt they'll use weapons, even if they have them." Umie adds. Umie smirks and tosses the jacket onto the bed. "Well, I'll defiantly have my hair in a tight braid, my black boots . . . and I need something that's flexible but comfortable."

"What should I wear?" Nari asks.

"Well, you're with Takuto, and from what Kenshi told me, he's the intelligence specialist, so he might be the one working behind the scenes. You might not need to dress for anything." Umie says.

"Maybe, but you never know." Nari reminds. "Why is it that when we need to dress for something, we got nothing, then when we just throw something on, we look freakin sexy?!"

Umie laughs. "I don't know! It's frustrating."

"I'd defiantly think your shoes are what you need to think about. If something is to happen, you need to run." She laughs.

"Run Forest, run!" Nari quotes.

The girls laugh and Umie finally decides on a simple black V-neck with short sleeves, her yoga leggings and her black boots. Her hair braided down her back, her ombre trails down until it fades to the tips.

Nari throws on a black long-sleeve shirt, covering the white logos with Umie's leather jacket and pulling on her black gymshoes. She throws her hair in a ponytail and sighs.

There's a knock on the door and Hiro's muffled voice travels through. "Girls, meeting is about to start."

"Okay." Umie calls back.

The girls head down the steps into the bar area where the rest of the boys are huddled mostly around Riki.

Boss looks to Nari and smiles. "Nari, how've you been?"

"You only saw me yesterday." Nari snipes.

He waves her off, not seemingly bothered by her attitude. "Well, I don't pay attention to specifics. Good work, Takkun!"

"Why do I have to babysit her?" Takuto complains. His outfit is a black long-sleeved shirt, as well as a long black scarf with pink stripes around his neck.

"Will you stop saying that?" Nari bickers.

"Now, now. Just take a seat." Boss coos.

Most of the boys seem to be wearing jeans, and for a moment Umie considers changing, but vetoes it out. She spots Kenshi and smiles as she walks to stand by his side. He wears a black T-shirt and a sleeveless grey coat with fur around the top and dark blue jeans, he also wears black fingerless gloves.

"You look good." Kenshi compliments.

"Thanks." Umie replies. "Is it, okay? For the mission?"

"Yeah it's fine." He assures.

Umie sighs and takes a seat at the bar stool, Nari joining her. "So what's going on?" Nari asks.

"Be more excited! You girls are about to perform your first mission as a Black Fox." Riki smiles. "I can tell Umie's a little excited. Nari?"

"I'm not really, all that happy." Nari admits.

"We've already sent the warning, so now all we have to do is get in and steal." Kenshi says.

"The art museum is light on security. It'll be a piece of cake." Hiro smiles.

"Wait, you guys sent a warning?!" Umie exclaims. "And is that the museum close to where we work?"

"You girls know it then?" Boss assumes.

"Well, Umie knows it." Takuto grins, earning a glare from Nari.

"I know it too! It's well-known. Very rare to have anything stolen from it." Nari explains.

"Exactly! So _why_ would you guys send a warning?" Umie asks. "That's makes you predictable and the targets stock up on security."

"Plus, they'll be on high alert." Nair adds.

"Good thieves send threats!" Boss exclaims with a smile.

"_That's_ your reason?!" Umie growls, her lip contorting into a snarl. "That's so stupid! Just like when you called to have me fired." She stabs.

Boss goes silent and Kenshi steps in. "It's cowardly to steal something without any warning."

"But it's all about surprise right?"

"Well sometimes it takes people a while to notice something's missing." Hiro says. "This way they know we're coming, and what we're after, and when the missions succeeds our reputation skyrockets."

Umie sighs. "Fine, I can understand that."

"Did you send threats to our museum too?" Nari asks.

"Of course!" Boss exclaims with a smiles. "I'm guessing security was tight?"

"I just thought it was because of the new mummies we got that day." Umie says.

"Well, it's time. We'll leave you to it!" Boss dismisses.

"You're not coming?" Nari asks.

"That's a relief." Umie mumbles.

"Boss hardly ever comes. We're the ones who do all the work." Riki says.

"Well someone has to hold down the fort. They really do what I tell them to."

"I see. . ." Nari rolls her eyes.

"Wait, where are you going Takuto?" Kenshi asks. "You're babysitting Nari, right?"

"SO annoying . . ." Takuto grumbles.

"Yeah, like seeing your face always brightens my day." Nari bites back.

"Starting today, you two work as a pair." Riki orders.

"Annoying . . ." Takuto repeats. "Don't screw anything up."

"Like I'll be doing anything important. I'll just be sitting next to you, _watching_ your work. How could I screw that up?"

"You know what'll happen if you do something stupid, right?" Takuto glares.

"What? What'll happen?" Nari challenges.

Nari remembers how they threatened her and Umie with a gun pointed at the head when they first met. Despite their usefulness to them, Nari assumes it'll end with a gun to their head. She looks to Umie who only smiles and nudges her softly with her elbow. One slip up and she could endanger Umie and herself.

Takuto smirks. "You really want to know?"

"No, never mind." Nari grumbles.

"Just make sure to point that gun the other way." Umie adds.

"So you _do_ know." He grins.

Umie glares at him and snatches Nari's arm as she follow Hiro out the door.

They piles into a pitch-black van without a license plate. Umie would comment about it, but only assumes that it's all part of the plan. The van in description looks similar to the Scooby-Doo gang. Only in the back there's an entire computer system and equipment. The back is big enough for that and the four of them. Hiro sitting up front with Riki. With Riki driving, they pull into the main thoroughfares, narrowly avoiding a pothole in the road. Umie grabs a safely handle to steady herself.

"Relax, Umie," says Riki. "I've driven a car before."

"I've done a lot of things before, but that doesn't mean I'm any good at them."

Umie can tell it encourages him as he smiles and jerks the truck to the left so that they don't hit another pothole. Nari laughs and keeps saying 'Oh my god' under her breath.

"You want us to ruin your equipment?!" Umie yells. She watches Riki look into the rearview mirror. "Then drive straight!"

Riki steadies the wheel. Still Umie clutches the safety handle and tries not to think about what she ate for dinner.

When they see the outer fence of the museum, they find guards standing at the front blocking the main gates. Then they see a couple others on patrol around the perimeter.

"Man, they're on high alert." Nari says as she peeks out the window.

"Because we sent the threat." Riki proudly smiles.

"I still think that was a dumbass move." Umie degrades.

"I count only six." Kenshi whispers as he and Umie glance through the back windows of the van and watch the guards make their rounds.

"Three at the gate." Umie says, tracking their movements.

"Two more traveling around in a circle. Another is stationary at the southeast corner. We should assume another guard is out of sight at the northwest corner." Takuto adds.

"Seven then. Still, far less than I was worried about." Riki nonchalantly says. "Okay, are we ready?"

"Don't let us down, Leader!" Hiro cheers.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Riki smiles.

"All right, Takuto. It's show time." Kenshi smiles.

"On it." he nods.

"What should I do?" Umie asks.

"You're coming with us." Riki orders.

"What?!" the girls say in unison, only Nari is more reluctant.

"Seriously?" Umie asks.

"Well, if you're not comfortable . . ." Hiro starts.

"No! No, I am."

"Umie!" Nari exclaims.

"What, while we're here!" she says back.

"But-But!"

"Today, ladies!" Takuto urges.

Umie sighs in aggravation. "Let's go."

Without looking back at Nari, Umie leaps out of the van with Riki, Kenshi and Hiro. Slamming the doors behind them, Nari only then notices another equipment case that's been left open. Her heart jars in her chest when she sees the cushion imprinted in the shape of a gun.

Nari looks back at Takuto. "Why aren't you going?"

"Got to take care of things here." He answers. Nari watches as she opens up the laptop, sees an image of the interior of the museum on the screen.

"Is that . . . from the security cameras?" she asks hunching over his shoulder.

"When the time comes, I'll switch them on loop." Takuto says. "It'll replay the footage before Riki and the others show up, keeping them covered. It should give them enough time. And with these guards, it'll be simple."

"You can do all that with _one_ laptop?" Nari asks surprised.

"We laid the groundwork beforehand."

Umie follows Kenshi, Riki and Hiro as they sneak around to the back. Riki signals them to halt as a guard comes walking by. His keys ringing in Umie's ears compared to the silence. Since it's her first, she probably won't be anything different than Nari. Sitting aside and watching so she doesn't screw it up.

The mission shouldn't take more than two hours.

Umie tries to keep herself calm, remembering how they had worked out a few strategies to distract, disable, and render unconscious any guards they might encounter. Umie tries to hold her breath as they've stopped by a garbage can. Remembering her gameplay with Nari, she spots a glass bottle.

Carefully, Umie picks it up, the neck in her hand. And when she was sure Riki and Kenshi and Hiro aren't looking to stop her, she chucks it towards the far end of the fence. The sound of impact startles the boys.

The guard stops. "What was that?" he whispers. He carefully steps further and further away from their hiding spot.

Riki looks to Umie and she shrugs, smiling.

"There's' bound to be more inside. Be on your guar." says Riki

Hiro picks the lock and they slip inside, Kenshi closing the door silently behind them. Umie rises to stand in the blackness, the only light coming from the windows.

The museum itself, from what Umie remembers in her history class, has utilized architecture dating back to the Baroque period.

The entire museum is centered around the rectangular shape of a circular mosaic. A flawless staircase leads to double doors which can open by themselves into the Anthropology exhibits. The first room has a beautiful marble fountain. At the very top of the fountain, a statue of a voluptuous nude woman looked down on them as they passed. She held a swath of fabric that clung to the lower half of her body and appeared to billow out behind her in a suspended arc.

A small crystal is hanging in the center of roof and two curving staircases along the sides which join together on a platform above and across from the exhibit entrance. Another curving staircase branches off from the platform up into the "heart" of the museum. This is the room with a grand crystal chandelier and the owner's signature emblem entitled into the floor and with double doors which open to a round balcony.

"Wow." Umie gasps in awe.

"The guards are inside." says Riki. When he first breaks the silence, Umie instinctively tenses, expecting his booming voice to alert guards nearby, but instead out comes a controlled whisper, deep and quiet. She chastises herself for such naïveté. Riki has not risen to such high ranks within the Black Foxes by being foolish or unskilled. Umie now wonders if he'd be better at stealth and hiding than her expectations. Her nagging voice of reason in her mind insists otherwise.

"Far more men within,"" Hiro agrees. "Mostly bunched at entrances to all of the lower floors. They're far more concerned of us getting out than getting in. we must use that to our advantage, but also remember, the escaping may be much more difficult."

"You two scout ahead." Riki orders to Kenshi and Umie.

"Time to start the mission." Riki's voice comes in through an intercom.

Nari looks down and leans over Takuto's shoulder as he presses a button and Riki's face appears on the monitor. "We're in, and Kenshi and Umie are scouting now."

"I'm n position. Waiting on you two to get the treasure." Hiro speaks.

Nari inhales and nervously fidgets with her fingers. Umie and Kenshi are in, and it looks like Riki is overseeing the operation, while scouting the building. Hiro's job being to make sure the artwork isn't counterfeit. At least from what Nari can gather.

"So what's your job remotely, Takuto?" Nari asks.

"Will you stop mumbling to yourself? It's creepy." He complains. "It's time."

Takuto beings typing on his computer, his eyes flickering from one screen to another as his fingers seem to seemingly type effortlessly on the keyboards. She watches as the screen flickers with static, then the image remains blank. She sees Riki, Kenshi and Umie on the monitor.

"Three guards in the next room. Wait 20 seconds." he speaks into an intercom.

Riki holds up his hand and waits. After the twenty seconds, there's a huge crash that startles Umie and Nari even in their different locations. "Whoa what was that?" one says.

"I don't know. I'll go check it out." Another speaks.

One heads off in a different direction and Nari gasps when she sees Kenshi's fist clobbering the guard. His beefy arms wrap around the guard's neck as he falls, tightening, twisting, and then the guard goes still.

Calmly, he picks up the body and props it against the wall. He crosses the guard's arms, and Umie helps adjust his legs a tiny bit, and tilts the hat so that it appears he has nodded off. If she's disturbed by the event, she doesn't show it. Or maybe it's because of her playing games, or that the guard is still alive. Kenshi kicks the legs a couple times until they lock. With ten seconds to spare, Nari breathes in relief as Umie and the boys sneak into the room.

"This is the painting. Piece of cake." Riki smirks.

"Why do I feel like that's a bad thing . . ." Umie ponders.

"I'll head back. Hiro, stand by." Kenshi says. "It'll be all for nothing."

"Okay! Got it!" Hiro chirps.

From a separate window, Nari sees a sprinkler turn on. Another monitor shows guards panic and Umie and the boys escape.

"I feel sorry for whoever has to clean up." Nari laughs. Still, Nari can't help but agree with Umie at how easily the job went, but decides to keep it to herself for now. She gets chill when she thinks about how close the guards came to seeing them . . . seeing Umie.

"You might've been right in choosing me." Takuto smiles. Nari looks to him and instantly her cheeks warm.

"W-What?"

"If they had to take care of you, you would've had to go in with them. Being with me is the safest place for a girl." he says.

At first, Nari wants to take that as an offensive sexist term, seeing as how Takuto usually makes those remarks. But from the look on his face, he seem genuine. Maybe even . . . worried. Maybe he does have a nice bone in his body somewhere.

"This mission was really simple." He says. "Now we've just got to wait for the other to comer back."

"Doesn't it seem kind of odd, that the missions was easy?"

"You saying you wish it wasn't?"

"You know what I mean."

"I do." He smiles. "Don't worry, when I mean simple, I mean just that simple. If there was a catch, I'd catch it. Or at least Hiro would."

Suddenly there's a knock at the door of the van. A muffled male voice comes through, deep and authoritative.

"Excuse me. I'd like to have a word with you." He says.

"The police?" Nari mumbles. "But why?"

Then a chill runs down her spine. With the commotion inside, they're probably checking suspicious vehicles around the area.

"What do we do?" Nari asks Takuto.

"I need to have a word with you." The police officer nearly demands.

Nari's nervous, scooting back from the window until she bumps into Takuto. Then Takuto abruptly jumps on top of her.

"Huh?! Takuto, what are you-!"

"Quiet." he whispers. Nari shivers as his lips are on her neck.

A plan, she needs to think of a plan. Or at least imagine what it is he's thinking of so she can at least play along.

But her mind is fuzzy with Takuto against her like this. She needs to focus.

But she

Can't

Think.


	5. Chapter 4

Nari feels her face grow hot as she feels the ends of Takuto's tickle his lids with spiderweb wisps. She has the urge to itch her itch her eyes but forces herself to remain still.

Looking around, the windows are slightly tinted, so the police shouldn't be able to distinguish any details of them. Then Nari realizes that from the other side, they mimic a couple probably making out. The though makes Nari want to shove Takuto off her, but realizing his plan, she stays still.

Until Takuto's lips brush against her neck. Nari stiffens and gasps.

"Shh! Idiot, I told you to be quiet." He hisses. "You're gonna get us caught."

Nari snarls and has half the mind to yell back at him not to whisper in her ear, or lean near her neck, but she has to physically bite her lip to keep speaking out.

She then hears the guard stutter. "Oh, um . . . sorry, didn't mean to . . . interrupt."

_Interrupt_?!

Nari watches as his shadow nervously rubs his neck, then looks around and then turns to finally walk away.

Takuto stills for a moment, looking through both windows before speaking. "Phew, he's gone. That was close."

Seizing her chance, Nari rolls to one side and shoves Takuto off, but makes sure it's not too hard so that he doesn't fall into his equipment.

"You didn't have to sit on me!" Nari immediately snaps.

"I panicked, okay." Takuto defends. "At least he didn't open the door, then we would've been screwed."

"I was practically panicking the whole time!"

Takuto looks to Nari, genuinely confused. "Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?!" Nari feels flared at the sight of him being so calm after pinning her to the floor of the van like it's no big deal.

Then her mind suddenly flicks to the voice of the policeman; it had sounded so familiar, but she can't place a name or face.

"Cops are wandering around. Be careful." Takuto says. Nari snaps her head to him, ready to counter with a "Thanks, Captain Obvious" cliché, but realizes he's not talking to her. He speaks into a microphone connected to the server of his laptop.

"We're not going to get caught." Riki replies.

Nari can't get over how quick the job was, and it may have been Umie's forewarning, but maybe these men are as professional as they claim to be.

The doors of the van throw open and Nari jumps back as Riki and Kenshi immediately begin to stuff the painting inside. Hiro and Umie climb in once it's loaded, and Riki jumps into the front seat of the van with Kenshi.

Nari immediately gathers Umie in a hug, and she returns it instantly.

"That was, really intense." Umie tells with a smile on her face.

"Let's just be happy it went okay." Nari reminds.

"Right, right."

"Glad to see you enjoyed yourself." Riki glimpses through the rearview mirror. "Expect more of it as we hunt down your grandfathers' works."

Nari takes her seat next to Umie as Kenshi turns on the truck's radio. Nari glimpses around as Takuto types away on the computer, Hiro trying to draw a meaningful conversation from Umie. Naru looks down and finds Umie's hands are shaking slightly. Whether from adrenaline, fear, excitement, she doesn't know. But when she leans her head on Umie's shoulder, Umie wraps her arm around Nari's shoulder and pull her close. Nari wraps her arm around Umie's back as they head bar to the bar.

Upon arrival, Boss greets them with an optimistic smile and rounds of beer. The boys all follow in after the girls and Riki abruptly heads for the shot glasses.

"Oh, I'm tried." Kenshi says as he stretches and relaxes into a bar stool.

"Another mission accomplished!" Hiro jumps and plops into the seat next to Kenshi who shakes his head with a chuckle.

"Yeah, because _we_ did it." Riki prides.

"Nice work, everyone!" Boss exclaims.

Umie can't help but feel tugs of guilt as they had driven up into the bar. They'd unload the painting first thing in the morning and stow it away in the basement of the bar. Umie goes and slides into a booth and looks over to the boys. They just stole a painting. _She_ helped them steal a painting. Even the notion that it's her grandfather's work doesn't ease the guilt that oozes over her; like being covered in a blanket made of tar.

"So! Let's take a look at that painting." Boss claps on urgently.

As he lifts the cloth, Nari goes and joins Libby, handing her a cup of cold water from the soda fountain. Poking a straw into it, Nari cheers to Umie and the girls smile to one another.

Tossing the cloth over the corner, everyone falls silent, eyes widening in awe

"Who's she?" Umie speaks.

"Is that . . . you? Umie?" Nari questions.

Kenshi looks to it with mouth agape.

Woodlands stretched long in every direction. The trees themselves stood in thick union, close as grass blades, almost as though they had conspired to merge nearer to on another in order to block anyone who might dare cross their boundaries. Layers of fog spilled out from between the blackened tree trunks.

The image of a young woman seated in profile at a grand piano, her hands trailing back and forth over the keys, bleeds through the overly of fog. Poised in front of her like a squat gentleman is a grand piano. The music can practically he heard through the strokes of the brush, the pattern of trickling notes matching the movements of the figure before them. Oddly, everything within the fog's spread, except for the woman's deep violet evening gown, appears in muted tones of black and white. Her long fair hair, secured partially by a glittering comb, hangs in loose strands around her downturned face, concealing her features from view as she played and sang.

The dress that she wore, beautiful and elegant, is floor-length. It hugs close to the curves of her body before opening out just below the knees like the trumpet of a bell flower.

The woman's hands, nimble and long-fingered, seemed to float over the piano keys.

The blanket of snow flowing up to the steps melts away around her, as if her body is radiating a special heat that causes the snow to melt, revealing lush spring grass and early spring flowers.

Despite its immense beauty, Umie honestly starts to think it was a waste to get it. Not to degrade her grandfather's work, but all that for a painting of a pod of dolphins? Umie expected something that portrays something of old: Renaissance. Medieval. Victorian.

"Wow . . . it's really intense seeing it in person." Boss says.

"I almost can't believe it was painted decades ago." says Kenshi.

Umie looks to Nari who remains quiet.

"I don't know much about art, but even I think this is amazing." Riki adds.

Umie studies the woman, locked in a trance. At first she thinks she's hallucinating, but she hears the music trickle through her ears. The music picked up once more, the pattern of trickling notes matching the movements of the figure before her. The melody now meandering on without vocal accompaniment, the piano taking over. An interlude of high notes trickled forth in a complicated pattern, accented by a few well-placed chords from the instrument's lower spectrum. This mixture of dark and light, high and low, hope and despairs, worked is hypnotic effect on Umie, as though she is a small child listening to an intricate story.

Hadn't there been memories of her visiting her grandfather's summer home, and he would play piano for her?

" . . . Hey." Umie looks to Takuto, her thoughts shattering. "Why are you spacing out?"

Umie quickly feels her cheeks warm and turns back to the painting. "I'm . . . just speechless." She fibs. Though it is a version of the truth. "But, why did we have to steal _this_ painting?"

"It was going to be turned over to an art dealer in a few days," Hiro answers. "and we heard a counterfeit was being made."

"So after investigating, and through means of research, we found out the counterfeit story it true." Riki adds. "And the counterfeit was going to the art dealer while the real painting would be sold on the black market for a profit."

"But, now that we have the real thing, those making the counterfeit are probably panicking." Kenshi smiles.

"Not to be the wet blanket, but how do you know this is the real thing?" Nari asks.

"Because of me." Hiro prides.

The girls roll their eyes in union. "You?" Nari doubts.

"Hiro is from a long line of expert appraisers." Boss backs. "And he's a good judge of character, too."

Hiro smirks at Nari and winks at Umie.

"He can figure out someone's weakness just by looking at them." Kenshi says.

"Wow . . ." Nari mumbles.

"If I see the real thing once, I can remember every detail of it." Hiro smirks.

It's impressive, Umie admits; though not that she'd ever give Hiro that satisfaction. Or rather any of them for that matter. The last thing they need is an inflation to their already big egos.

"I looked this one all over. It's definitely the real thing." Then abruptly, Hiro's face drops to concern. ". . . Hm?"

"What? Don't tell me you just realized its' the counterfeit . . ." Riki warns.

"No, this is the real one." Hiro quickly dismisses. "but there's no signature."

"What?" Boss exclaims in worry.

"It's defiantly Umie's grandfather's, I can tell by the technique."

"Did he just forget to sign it?" Nari suggests.

"For artists, the signature it kind of important for the work." Umie gently reminds Nari. "It's to like say, this is mine."

"So he must've done it on purpose."

". . . So there's a reason why he didn't sign it?" says Takuto.

_A reason_? _And what would that be_? Umie thinks to herself.

"Well, at least we know it's the real thing. Now we need to celebrate our girls' first successful mission!"

"_Our_ girls?" Umie whispers to Nari, causing her to giggle.

"Alright everyone! Cheers!"

The girls raise their water glasses and join in the chant.

"You girls don't want beer?" Boss asks.

"We're eighteen." Umie stiffly replies. Obviously still holding her grudge, she takes a long sip of water.

"What are you celebrating for?" Takuto then asks Nari. "You didn't do a damn thing on your first mission."

"Well I was working with you, so of course I didn't do shit." Nari suddenly stabs back. The boys all draw long 'Oooooh's' at her remark, and for an instant, Nari regrets it. But with her heart still trying to function normally, he can't say she didn't experience enough. "But I did feel lie my heart was going to stop." She adds to lighten the humor.

"Really? Can you try and do it again?" Takuto counters.

Nari glares, but can't help but smile, taking his comeback as a sign he wasn't offended. Then Boss bursts into laughter.

"You two seem to be getting along quite well. It makes an old man happy to see love blossom."

"What?!" Nari blurts. "We're getting along like cats and dogs."

"Who's the cat and who's the dog?" Umie suddenly jokes.

"Well I hate cats, so I guess I'm the dog." The girls laugh. Nari's slowly dies as Takuto glares, but like a switch going off, she snarls back. "I'm just joking. You don't have to glare at me."

"You two seem to make a good team." Kenshi says as he walks up next to Umie. Takuto switches his glare to Kenshi.

"He's glaring again, look at Takkun's face." Hiro pokes.

"It's like watching a husband and wife comedy duo!" Riki jokes.

"Husband and wife?!" Nari reacts as if Riki had just insulted her.

"Even though Takkun's smart, in this situation he'd be the funny man." Hiro laughs.

"Usually the smart one is the funny one." Boss adds raising his glass as if to point at Takuto.

"Wish I was that smart." Umie smiles softly as she sips her water through her black straw. "I've always admired those characters you see on spies shows. I always try to be like them, but I can never really pay attention well."

"Is it because you have the attention span of a squirrel?" Takuto says, with, a small smile on his face.

"Hey! I have ADHD, shiny things fascinate me." Umie counters, laughing. Takuto actually laughs along, and Nari flinches as she feels a sudden pinch in her chest.

"You know a huge IT corporation recruited Takuto." Riki says.

"IT Corporation . . .?"Nari repeats.

"Where's the headquarters of that company? London?" Boss asks as he pours himself another glass of beer.

". . . New York." Takuto hesitantly answers.

"So you're a -" Nari starts.

"Programmer." Takuto finishes.

"Yeah I noticed that." Nari jokes. He easily changed the programs in her cell phone, hacked cameras from the van, and even turned on sprinklers remotely from the van.

"Does anyone else have day jobs?" Umie asks.

"Well, I own the bar." Boss starts.

"Isn't that a night job?" Umie counters.

Hiro laughs. "Umie's a pretty good straight woman!"

"You guys walk right into it . . ." she waves off. "What do you do, Hiro?

"I don't have a job. I'm in college." Hiro smiles.

"Whoa! Seriously?!" Nari exclaims. "So are we!"

"I'm guessing an art school?" says Umie.

"Bingo."

"Well, I'm in college and I have a job. We both do." Umie mocks.

"Well it's not like you'd call my job, official." Hiro says, referring to the Thief undercover nonsense he partakes in.

Nari can't help but softly smile at the setting. Sure they had just helped steal a painting, but it's almost as if that didn't matter. Here they are, talking with a group of boys, who appeared out of nowhere, and terrified them. But now it's starting to feel like they're really getting to know them and how they function. After all, conversations is the basis of where most friendships begin. Maybe is they get to know them better, the fear that still grips both her and Umie will slowly dwindle, and they can begin to see their reasoning for becoming thieves of the night.

"Kenshi?" Nari moves the spotlight to him.

"Me? I'm a firefighter."

"Really?" Umie's words nearly splurt out as she was trying to swallow before speaking. She grabs a napkin and wipes her mouth before using it as a coaster.

Kenshi bashfully smiles. "Thank you."

"And you, Riki?" Umie finishes.

"Riki's a government official." Boss answers first.

"A _government_ official?!" Nari squeaks.

"So does that mean he can't answer his own questions?" Umie glares at Boss.

"What's with that reaction?" Riki questions Nari.

"Because . . ."

"It seems counterintuitive." Umie finishes. "I mean, a government official, a thief? You have to admit that's a weird, combination to even think about."

"She's saying you don't seem like you work for the government." Takuto taunts.

"What?!"

"No! No! We didn't mean it like that." Nari quickly saves.

"No, it did kind of imply that." Umie says.

"Shut up." Nari says through grit teeth.

"So you do think that I don't seem like I work for the government." Riki continues.

"They work together." Umie chuckles. "Tag-team. Kind of like us." Umie nudges Nari. "Though I'm sure out comedian act would be far funnier."

Desperate to change the subject, Nari blurts out. "Does anyone else know you're all thieves? Like friends and family?"

Then the room instantly falls silent to where one could hear a mosquito fart. Nari feels her face turn beat red and Umie carefully set her glass down on the counter. Everyone has a forlorn look on their faces.

Kenshi is the first to speak up. " . . . I didn't want my family to worry, so they don't know."

" . . . Oh."

Nari looks to Takuto and seeming to catch her, he looks up. His expression neutral. "Takuto?"

"No." he bluntly answers. "I haven't seen them for twenty years."

"What?"

"Never mind." He instantly denies, his gaze shifting down and away. Nari feels a small clench in her stomach at the thought that he might not get along with his parents.

"Seems like you two grew up in happy families, girls." Boss speaks.

Nari shyly nods and Umie answers with a soft yes.

"My father, though, was close with my grandfather, all of him and his siblings were; so when he passed away, it really hit them hard." Nari looks to Umie and rests her chin in her hand. "I still don't feel like, he's let go. And I know it's hard, and I can't force him, but I could just . . . feel a shift in it."

"Yeah, my grandfather made it feel special too. He was like the child whisperer in our family. He always had these funny toys and stuff I would play with and I would dead going home because they were so fun."

"But, up until now, our families are pretty normal. Almost too normal." Umie bounces back. "In fact, I was always hoping for a little excitement."

"Normal is the happiest. A weird environment is usually the most stressful." Kenshi speaks to her.

They exchange a soft smile between each other. Taking a sip, she swirled the liquid with her straw. The ice clinking against her glass.

"But, because of how we grew up, we were able to meet you like this, girls." Boss interjects. "Do you ladies want anything to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Umie denies.

"Uh . . . I guess I'll take some -"

"Chicken wings." Her voice suddenly falls into perfect unison with Takuto. He then proceeds to glare at her, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"Jeez, you guys have the same taste in food, and your timing is perfect too?" Umie teases.

"Not funny." Umie denies while Takuto sits beside her, coolly eating his chicken wings.

As the boys start to gulp more liqueur, Umie manages to slip away into the bedroom where she quickly locks the door and changes her night clothes. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, he had just climbed into her bed when there's a knock at the door. She assumes its Nari and calls that it's open, but in steps Kenshi instead. Umie instantly seems to smile and leans over the safety rail, leaning on her elbows.

"Hey." She greets.

"Hey, you don't want to stay for the party?" he smiles at her. With his head nearly level with the bottom of top bunk, Kenshi rests his hands on the rail, peaking at Umie.

"I have to work tomorrow. I nearly forgot about it." Umie says, waving her phone in hand as if to hint to Kenshi how she remembered. "I start at noon and work until ten o'clock."

"Jeez, that stinks."

"Well, if you _told_ your mom I was your girlfriend, I'm sure she would willingly let me have the day off." Umie pokes at Kenshi's forehead.

Kenshi chuckles and wipes her hand away. "Very funny. I told you I'm not interested in dating."

"I'm just saying, a little white lie and she could say. "Umie, you should go home early today. Go and spend the day with Kenshi." Umie impersonates.

Kenshi continues to laugh as he mounts the first two steps of the ladder. Hoisting himself up, he sits on the top bunk, the tips of his hair nearly touching the ceiling. Umie stares at him, his long legs falling over the edge of the ladder.

"Well actually I need you there. We're going to discuss the next mission." Kenshi says.

"Already?" Umie's eyes widen in surprise.

"Yeah. And we need you there to hear about it."

"Don't you want to wait until we're all together?" Umie asks.

"Takuto's busy and Boss is closing the bar early tomorrow. So it'll just be me, Riki and Hiro." He explains.

"Oh, okay."

"Hey," Kenshi says, leaning in. "You did great today."

He smiles and Umie instantly lower her gaze, goofily smiles and bashfully thanks him.

"Seriously. You did well. You show promise." Kenshi praises.

"Thanks."

"Okay, well I'll just let you get to bed. Don't want to keep you up. What time do you get off?" Kenshi asks.

"Uh . . ." Umie doubles checks her phone. "Three o'clock, so it's not that bad."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Umie suddenly chirps before she gives her lips the consent to speak.

Despite her surprise, Kenshi chuckles and says. "Good night, Estoque."

Shutting the door behind him, Umie snuggles down into bed. Her buries her chin to her chest a she pictures Kenshi's smiling face.


End file.
